


DR: Painful Truth

by SamAngel



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Gen, Post-New Dangan Ronpa V3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:07:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 20,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29334267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SamAngel/pseuds/SamAngel
Summary: What happened after Danganronpa V3? With the line between lies and truth, between fiction and fact, blurred beyond recognition, the only way to move forward is to choose something to believe in. Were they able to successfully change the world and stop the killing game? Did they fail, rendering their numerous sacrifices meaningless? Or is the truth something else entirely? Does it even matter?This is only one of the thousands of possible ways such an ambiguous ending could be interpreted. I chose this direction in order to have the opportunity to explore characters I enjoyed in further depth. All interpretations are equally likely and valid, which is part of what makes the series so well-loved. I hope you enjoy reading!
Relationships: Fukawa Touko/Naegi Komaru, Kirigiri Kyoko/Naegi Makoto, Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko/Pekoyama Peko, Mioda Ibuki/Soda Kazuichi, Nidai Nekomaru/Owari Akane, Sonia Nevermind/Tanaka Gundham
Kudos: 6





	1. Epi-Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> These first two prologue parts are just a bit of exposition to tie everything together and explain the real story for the "survivors" of V3. Chapter 1 is where we meet the real DICE gang and start planning. I hope you enjoy!

I took a breath to steady myself. Stepping out of that dome felt like being reborn. The silence was heavy as the dust and rubble settled behind us. We still didn't know how much, if any, of Tsumugi's ramblings had been true, but looking at the clouds in the blue sky, feeling a fresh breeze, made it easier to feel real. Seeing the occasional insect flit by also helped, but not without stirring up painful memories. Those memories...were undeniably real.

Desperate for information, I examined my surroundings. A glance at the dome behind us showed it printed with several garish Danganronpa Studios logos, confirming at least a portion of what we had been told. The thought of a society gleefully settling down at home with their families, snacks in hand, to watch us suffer, still fills me with rage. 

The next thing I noticed was the helicopter that had landed in the clearing outside the dome. A handful of people in dark suits and sunglasses stood outside of it, as if to welcome us. Standing among them, alive and well as if nothing had happened, was--

"Tsumugi?!" Himiko shrieked, balling up her fists.

Ignoring the people in suits, Maki was face to face with her in an instant. "You'd better start talking or I'll make sure you die this time."

"Maki!" I called after her cautiously. 

Tsumugi laughed. "I guess I do have a lot of explaining to do, don't I?"

"You can start by telling us why you let Keebo die when you're still alive!" Himiko demanded. 

"Oh, Keebo isn't dead!" The cosplayer giggled. "No one is dead! Everything is just plain fine!"

I rubbed my face, too tired to even form an opinion about the turn of events. It was just too much. "Tsumugi, please...either tell us the real truth, or just leave us alone."

She nodded. "Sorry I had to tell you guys so many crazy lies back there. I don't expect you to forgive me, of course. But that's okay, because now you guys get to join the Future Foundation!"

Maki blinked, then shook her head slowly. "Future...Foundation? That's…"

"Nyeh, I thought you said that was all fictional!" Himiko grimaced at the memory. "Just like Hope's Peak and Junko and us too!"

"Yeah, for the plot twist this season we wanted to go a bit more 'meta.' The viewers on the forums are accusing me of running out of ideas as we speak…" She giggled awkwardly. "But others just plain loved it! You can never please all your fans at once, I guess!"

"So…" Himiko glared tearfully at Tsumugi. "We're not fictional?"

"Of course not, silly, you're right here!" The cosplayer laughed. "And Hope's Peak and everything else, that's all real too. I just tweaked your memories a bit to make the show run more smoothly."

"But…" I struggled to process yet another slew of world shaking information. "But if Junko Enoshima and the participants of the original killing games were real people, how were you able to cosplay them?" I considered the possibilities for a moment, hoping my guess was wrong. "Did you...tell Kaede to lie to us about the cospox? She was the only one who would have been able to corroborate your story."

"Oh, that? No, that was easy enough for me to lie to her about." She laughed. "I'm actually just allergic to coconuts! I made her look away so I could put a little bit of the coconut oil I stashed in the bathroom onto her clothes. It's a pretty mild reaction, so it went away as soon as I took them off!" 

Tsumugi suddenly frowned at me. "To be honest though, I'm just plain surprised that a detective like you didn't question me because of that, Shuichi." She shook her head disapprovingly. "Getting a rash from something like that was already a bit of a stretch. But even if the cospox were real, if you were all really fictional characters like I said, then why would I have gotten a rash from cosplaying Kaede?"

"H-huh?" I blushed. No matter how hard I thought about it, I had no answer for her.

"I have a better question," Maki spat venomously. "Why are you talking like everything you told us back there was a lie? Calling Shuichi a detective, saying Hope's Peak Academy and Junko Enoshima were real...claiming everyone we lost is still alive?" She glared daggers at Tsumugi. "Why would we believe a single goddamn word you say? After all the lies you've told just to screw with us?"

As Tsumugi started to look nervous at Maki's proximity, one of the older suited men stepped forward and cleared his throat. "I understand this must be very confusing for you kids. Please forget everything you were led to believe during the killing game, and allow me to explain from the beginning."


	2. Prologue

My head spinning, I gave a small nod and eyed the old man expectantly. Were we finally about to learn the real truth? Was this actually someone we could trust, or did they just want to feed us more lies? I decided I still didn't care. At that point, information was information.

Even Maki's hateful glare was on the man as he began his story. "About 25 years ago, the Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History caused the world to spiral into despair. Mass murders, riots, and wars were soon no longer newsworthy events, as they happened every day in every part of the world. Even after her death, those who idolized Junko Enoshima were numerous, powerful, and cunning, carrying out her will in the form of political figures, religious leaders, and popular entertainers. 

"The Future Foundation never stopped trying to fight back. We even managed to successfully rehabilitate the group of ultimates that had once been known as the Remnants of Despair. We considered that a decisive victory for hope." He paused and adjusted his sunglasses. "But we made the same mistake as our predecessors, the same mistake they've made since the establishment of Hope's Peak Academy: we underestimated the power of those without ultimate talents.

"Even with the help of the survivors of the first killing game, and the former Remnants, we were outnumbered. The despair that had infected society was too strong. Anyone with a talent even close to reaching a perceived 'ultimate' level were being rounded up, tortured, and killed by ordinary people who worshiped Junko and her ideals. We tried to keep up with the reports, traveling all over the world to quell the cults and gangs attempting to spread despair. But, like carving a path through quicksand, every community we thought we'd saved soon looked as though we'd never been there. It was...too much."

The old man cleared his throat to steady the slight tremble in his voice. "We were struggling to keep our hopes. All of the Future Foundation's efforts, our trauma, our losses, seemed pointless. We weren't sure how to proceed until about thirteen years ago. A talented child we'd saved had an idea. A way to pacify our poisoned society while saving as many talented young individuals as possible."

"That was me!" Tsumugi interjected proudly. "I watched a lot of different TV shows when I was growing up, and the way they can influence society is just plain amazing!"

"Tsumugi suggested that if we demonstrate what appears to be a televised tribute to Junko Enoshima's killing game, it would satisfy society's cravings for despair, which would prevent many from finding the motivation to spread it themselves. We called for a sort of scouting program, where any young and talented people who were caught, rather than being killed right away, would be brought here to participate in another killing game." He sighed. "Just as we expected, frightened children were brought to us in droves. Many parents even offered up their own children."

The old man hesitated. When he spoke again, he sounded much more positive. "So far, it has worked exactly as she predicted. As the ratings of Danganronpa increased, the reports of gang violence and cult activity began to decrease. Now, after over a decade of the show running four seasons per year, we're as close as we've been in a long time to enjoying a peaceful society."

"And I like to try to sneak little positive messages into every season! That way, everyone watching gets a little dose of hope whether they like it or not!" Tsumugi smiled proudly.

Once the explanation had finished, the silence hung heavily in the air. Himiko looked exhausted, her eyes damp with tears. Maki's fiery glare stayed fixed on Tsumugi. I felt numb, not only from the myriad of half-truths and white lies I'd had to accept in such a short time, but from the weight and implications of this most recent version of the truth.

"So, now that you know the story," the old man added, breaking the silence. "I hope you'll accept our apologies for what you've been through, as well as our invitation to join the Future Foundation."

"It's just like Men In Black!" Tsumugi piped up excitedly. "The last suit you'll ever wear!"

Himiko glanced up at me, and I met her uncomfortable gaze. We looked up to see Maki watching us over her shoulder, gauging our reactions. I narrowed my eyes and gave her a small, determined nod. None of us had to speak to know what the others were thinking. 

Maki returned my nod and glared at Tsumugi once again. "You really think we would join an organization that put us through hell like this? I've spent enough of my life taking orders from an organization that tortured me, and you want me to do it again? Do you wanna die?" She suddenly pulled a blade from an unseen fold of her skirt and stepped quickly behind Tsumugi.

The suited figures stepped forward, but Tsumugi just laughed. "That's just plain overdramatic! What if I told you that Kaito already joined us?"

If she had expected Maki to falter or hesitate, she was severely disappointed. The sound of Kaito's name only caused her to grip the knife's handle tighter as she restrained the cosplayer's arms with the other hand. "I don't believe you. I won't! Kaito would never help you! He was trying to stop the killing game!"

"You know, you two really do have a lot in common!" Tsumugi pointed out. "Refusing to believe me with no proof is definitely something Kaito would do."

"But where's your proof, Tsumugi?" I asked. "I can accept that the Future Foundation was behind this. I may not want to, but it makes sense, and it fits with the information in the book I found about the history of Hope's Peak." I stroked my chin. "But if we really are ultimates who were brought here against our will, and everything you told us in the trial was for the sake of the show, then we can believe that those videos of us were fake too. That means we have no reason to believe that the Kaito we met wasn't the real Kaito." 

I narrowed my eyes at Tsumugi as I spoke. "I agree, refusing to believe something that's been proven without question isn't a smart idea. But without any proof, we have no reason to believe that Kaito would join you!"

"Th-that's right!" Himiko piped up. "Until there's proof, we get to choose what we believe!"

"Oh no," Tsumugi sighed. "I was just plain worried this would happen." She nodded toward the other Future Foundation members. Almost in unison, they pulled pairs of earplugs from their pockets.

The old man heaved a regretful sigh as he retrieved a strange device from the same pocket. "Sorry about this," he muttered, pressing a button. 

A high-pitched sound that was almost outside the range they could hear emanated painfully from the device. Immediately I felt myself growing dizzy, and the world went dark.


	3. Rescue

"So now that you know everything, you'll join us, won't you?"

Kokichi's eyes flashed with rage for a brief, nearly imperceptible moment, but then he grinned brightly. "Wooooow so you guys were the masterminds the whole time? And all those horrible gruesome deaths were just pranks? Nee-hee-hee!" he giggled. "That's soooo cool! Can I have your autographs?"

The identically-suited figures glanced at each other with carefully guarded confusion. "...In due time. So that means you accept?"

"Of course!" Kokichi grinned.

The man at the front of the group nodded his approval, with a small sigh of relief. "Your contributions will be valuable, Mr. Ou-"

"Whoops, that was just a lie."

"Excuse me?" The group scowled, nearly in unison. "This is no time to be playing games."

"Sorry~" Kokichi's face adopted a remorseful expression that didn't match his singsong voice. "I feel super bad for lying to you guys...but the truth is, I can't join your evil organization. I'm already the supreme leader of my own criminal syndicate!" His expression turned mysterious. "But obviously you guys already knew that, right? I mean, what kind of evil organization doesn't research their enemies and victims?"

"Evil?" one of the members scoffed. "We are trying to stop the despair from spre-"

"But you know what else?" Kokichi interrupted again, a smirk spreading over his face. "No evil organization worth anything would really leave their supreme leader to die."

Before anyone could attempt to reply, an explosion of smoke erupted between Kokichi and the group. The Future Foundation members shouted frantically and drew their weapons. Suddenly, an excited cackle joined the cacophony from above them. "Congratulations, Future Foundation! You've earned the right to be my new arch-nemesis!"

As the smoke cleared, they looked up to see Kokichi, clinging to a rope ladder that dangled from a hot air balloon. He waved dramatically at them, smiling like an excited child. "We'll try to make it as fun as possible!"

***********

As Kokichi climbed the ladder, he kept his face frozen in a carefully crafted frown of annoyance. It nearly broke when he saw four of the nine clown masks of the DICE gang grinning blankly back at him.

"Heya Boss! Welcome back!" A round masked figure with a loud, rough voice clapped him on the shoulder. "We knew ya wouldn't get killed off by some dumb murder show!"

"But…" A quiet voice spoke up. "We were watching...Boss...didn't you...get squished?"

"What? Nah Yuri, ya dummy, weren't ya watchin'? That was the astronaut guy!"

"No, it was me," Kokichi interjected casually.

"Woah, damn!" The stocky one laughed. "Leave it to the boss to pick the most excitin' way to go out!"

"Are you... _really_...this stupid...Ryu?" Yuri sounded exasperated. "If he...died...then how...is he here?"

"Because he's the boss! Right Boss?"

"Whatever," Kokichi shrugged. "The killing game is all fake anyway, so it doesn't matter. Anyway, what took you guys so long? I thought I was gonna have to make small talk with those boring losers _forever_."

A short figure with spiky blonde hair turned and grumbled. "It took a while to convince my fuckin' dad to let me borrow the balloon. He's been all grumpy about some top secret work assignment. He told me to borrow the chopper first, I told him that we needed to be _sneaky_ , goddamn it. So he said if I borrow the balloon I have to change the bag myself." She pointed upward at the white balloon that displayed a purple DICE logo.

Kokichi smirked. "Your dad is an ex-gangster and he can't even get his hands on a second hot air balloon? How lame."

She ignored him. "And don't you know how fuckin' slow these things are? Ever steered a hot air balloon, Boss? Shit, you're lucky we got here _today_."

"W-wait! W-what?!" A tall masked person with curly red hair cried out in panic. "B-boss, go back! What do you m-mean the killing game is f-fake?! It c-can't be FAKE! We've s-seen like fifty of th-"

"Don't strain your brain about it, Yoshi, you won't get it." Kokichi waved a hand dismissively. "Even _I_ barely get it, and they just explained it to me."

"Y-yeah," they sighed with relief. "You're right, Boss! B-but, then, w-why would they make everyone think it's real? T-the past p-participants are never s-seen again, r-right?"

Kokichi rolled his eyes. He would never admit it, but Yoshi's naive enthusiasm now reminded him of his two most recent and far more temporary associates. Two associates whose lives he thought he'd risked in a pointless attempt to end a fake killing game. A fake killing game that had completely and thoroughly made a fool of him.

He sighed and leaned against the edge of the basket. "Alright, I'll explain the whole thing to you guys, if I _have_ to." He glanced around disdainfully at the nervous Yoshi, the cautious Yuri, the excited Ryu, the annoyed Natsumi. Were the others waiting at their headquarters? Or was this small group that hovered over the city...all that remained of his friends? The thought made his chest ache. "But let's wait until we're back at the base. We have to start making a plan."

************

They landed neatly in the spacious backyard of an enormous mansion on the side of a forested mountain. Every decoration that adorned the yard, from the flowery gazebo to the ornate fountains to the creepy angelic statues, reflected the wealth that Natsumi's family had managed to reaccumulate since the supposed restoration of society. The mansion that stood a little further up the mountain was somehow even more magnificent, as if constantly inspiring competition. 

Once the balloon had safely touched down, Yoshi and Ryu leapt from the basket excitedly. 

"Let's goooooo! It's finally time to celebrate!"

"Y-yeah! The b-boss is back!"

Yuri crept after them, long brown hair trailing behind her. "You guys...boss said...we gotta...start planning…"

Natsumi stayed behind, grumbling as she extinguished the flame and allowed the envelope to deflate. "Go on ahead, Boss," she muttered. "Dad said I gotta leave this shit how I found it or I'm fuckin' grounded again."

"Nee-hee-hee! What a good little girl." He faced the mansion, willing himself forward, but something held him in place. 

"Shut the fuck up." Natsumi pulled up her mask for visibility, revealing her impatient glare. She spared him one more subtle glance before beginning the task of unhooking the bag from the basket. "You wanna help or somethin'?"

Kokichi wrinkled his nose as he watched her perform the tedious chore. "Uh, no."

Natsumi smirked at him. "Oh, _I_ get it. You're _scared_ to go in." She giggled more cutely than her vernacular suggested. "Pussy."

He narrowed his eyes at her annoyingly accurate observation. His voice took on an even more mocking tone. "Pretty rich coming from the little girl out here busting her ass so she doesn't get _gwounded_."

Her face morphed into a scowl, but her red eyes softened, only slightly. "Hurry the fuck up, they're all waiting. Get in there before they realize their supreme leader is a little bitch."


	4. Reunion

He followed the aesthetic stone path toward the front doors, then turned right and headed to the side of the building. Once he reached the spot he was looking for, he grabbed the wing of a nearby statue and pulled it down. With a rumbling sound, a hidden hatch opened in the grass, revealing a set of stairs. With a final frown of anticipation, he descended.

The war room erupted into a cacophony of cheers and applause as he entered. He blinked numbly at the nearly-full table, feeling warm relief seeping into his mind. There were still a couple of faces missing, but it was clear, at least, that the video he'd been shown during the killing game had been nothing more than a cruel lie.

He grinned. As if he'd been worried. As if he could be so easily manipulated by the lie of an amateur like Monokuma. 

He barely acknowledged the welcoming shouts and unsolicited hugs as he made his way to the front of the room. With only nine people to account for, it was easy to tell who wasn't there. In addition to Ryu, Yoshi, and Yuri, he noticed Kiki, Ayu, and Tetsuo. He knew Natsumi would be busy with the hot air balloon for at least a few more minutes. That left only Shinji and Shigeri. 

The twinge of concern that lingered in his chest brought a scowl to his face. He took his place at the head of the table, in his elaborate supervillain-style chair. After clearing his throat, he glared expectantly around the table as his henchmen gradually settled down.

"Boss! Oh Boooooossssss~!" Kiki, a girl with lilac hair in a short bob, spoke up excitedly. Her face wore her usual flirtatious grin. "BossBossBoss! You were soooooo coooool on TV! You've gotta tell us all about it!"

"I wanna hear it too!" Ayu nodded in agreement, her pigtails bouncing. "I hate the killing game but it's still so exciting whenever hope wins!"

Kokichi shook his head and relaxed in his chair with his hands behind his head. "Don't be stupid, I'm not gonna start until everyone gets here." He still refused to acknowledge the possibility that they wouldn't show up.

Natsumi stomped down the stairs angrily. "Yeah, yeah, I'm here, thanks to fuckin' nobody."

Kokichi suddenly noticed the sensation of a die-shaped plastic goblet being pressed into his hand. It was full of a fizzy, dark purple liquid. He glanced up in time to see Shinji bow to him, then turn to face the others. He struck a pose straight from a super sentai anime. "At last, our supreme leader has returned! And now, with our arrival, this meeting can begin...and with it, the dawn of our new era!"

Yuri rolled her eyes as Ryu and Yoshi applauded the dramatic display. "We could have...finished already...in the time...it took you...to make...that speech..."

"As if you're one to talk, you imbecile," Tetsuo snapped, looking up from his book. "Entire civilizations have risen and fallen in the time it takes you to utter one sentence."

"Jeez, can everyone shut up already?" Kokichi whined impatiently. "I'm getting bored. I wanna tell you guys all about my plan!"

"Permission to speak freely, Boss?" a lazy, sarcastic voice spoke up from behind Shinji. "You're a stupid little shit and your plans are stupid shit."

A chorus of "oooooooOOOOOO" arose from the group as they looked eagerly between their leader and the newest arrival.

Kokichi smirked slyly, ignoring the fresh wave of relief. He didn't even need to turn and look; he could clearly picture Shigeri's cold glare. "Aww, someone sounds maaaad~! Nee-hee-hee! Didja really miss me that much?"

Shigeri snorted, but the one eye that was visible beneath their hair remained cold. "Hell no. But that press sure did." They shook their head. "Shame. Thought you got your ass crushed into little bitch paste."

Kokichi laughed cheerfully, and the group snickered along. After years of the ten of them working together, no one was fooled by Shigeri's hostility. When he had first presented his plan to enter the killing game and destroy it from the inside, he'd managed to convince nearly all of his henchmen of the brilliance of the idea. Only Shigeri had remained opposed until the end. 

Everyone could tell that their anger was simply how their relief and concern manifested. Out of his nine subordinates, Shigeri was easily one of his oldest and closest friends. 

"SHIGERI!" Shinji bellowed, pointing aggressively at them. "Apologize for your insolence or suffer!"

"Nah."

Kiki giggled. "Ooooh Shiggy you're so cool! Stepping out of the shadows all tsundere like that!"

"Call it what ya want." Shigeri shrugged and picked their nose. "Just sayin' it like it is. Dumbass kid with a dumbass plan. Tell us all about it, dumbass."

"You dare defile your countenance in such a perverse manner in the presence of our Supreme Leader?" Shinji assumed a battle stance as he glared at Shigeri.

"Yep." With a yawn, they wiped their finger on the back of Kokichi's chair. "How long ya gonna keep interrupting, Shin? You're bein' rude."

Shinji bellowed in frustration, but Kokichi only laughed. He wouldn't have minded letting them all bicker amongst themselves forever. Basking in the lively company of his friends once again almost made the pointless killing game feel like a bad dream, a memory too distant to matter.

Unfortunately, it did matter. Now that he knew the truth behind the existence of the game, it mattered even more. They couldn't afford to relax. He cleared his throat again. "Now that everyone is finally here, we can get started! You all watched the game like I told you, right?"

"'Course we did!" Ryu cheered, pumping his fist. "Kiki set it up to record every new episode!"

Yoshi's eyes filled with tears. "W-we were s-s-so s-sad when you d-died, Boss!"

Kiki put a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "I kinda thought that the hot astronaut guy would die much earlier, with how stubborn he was! I guess they had to keep him around so he could get with the sexy assassin." She pouted. "Putting a cute romance plot in a murder show is too cruel! You can't even hope for a happy ending!"

"That's the whole point, right?" Ayu muttered, looking miserable. "My dad said, if you ever feel hope from a killing game, don't trust it. It's just Monokuma trying to trap you into feeling more despair."

The entire table fell into silence for a moment. As always, Ryu was the first to break it. "So what was it like Boss, gettin' smashed like that?"

"R-Ryu! That's s-such a s-scary question!" Yoshi covered his ears frantically. "I d-don't even w-wanna hear the answer to th-that!"

"Yeah, jeez!" Kiki smacked the side of his head. "Too soon!"

"I won't lie and say I'm not curious about that," Tetsuo admitted. "But I'm inclined to believe that a tactful approach would be a more productive option here."

"Shit, even Tets thinks you're fucked up," Natsumi snorted.

Kokichi suppressed a small shudder as his mind processed the question. Ever since the Future Foundation had tampered with his mind, his memories from before the killing game were slowly returning as a vague, disjointed mess. Even his memories of the events during the game felt distant and blurry...except one. There was one memory that loomed over his mind, crystal clear, waiting for a chance like this to replay itself in vivid detail.

_The hydraulic press screeched mechanically above him as it lowered slowly, too slowly. Even with the press already over halfway down, it felt as though an hour had already passed by the time Kaito was no longer visible. He was alone, with only the steady and unforgiving wall of metal for company. He closed his eyes and forced his imagination to ignore what was about to happen._

_It didn't help at all._

_The agonizing pace of the press ensured that he had almost a full second to feel the cold surface brush his cheek, his chest...ignoring primal feelings of panic, denying his natural instinct to escape as the walls closed in...before falling unconscious._

"Sounds like a boring question. Boring questions make boring stories." Shigeri yawned and rested their feet on the table. "Next!"


	5. Trauma

Kokichi blinked, suppressing a rush of gratitude at the abrupt change of topic. "Yeah, that's probably the lamest story I could tell right now." He grinned mischievously as he paused for suspense. "Nope, I'm gonna tell you all about the Future Foundation...and their killing game."

There was an assortment of reactions from around the room. Yoshi and Ryu gasped in unison. Natsumi and Tetsuo scowled. Shigeri raised an eyebrow while Shinji struck a series of poses. Kiki pulled a device with several buttons from her pocket and pressed one. A cartoonishly dramatic dun-dun-DUN sound effect played from the speaker.

"Boss..." Ayu looked as though she were close to crying. "What you just said...does that mean the Future Foundation are the bad guys now?"

"Hmmmmmm? Now?" Kokichi raised an eyebrow. "Are you keeping secrets from us, Ayu?"

"My dad told me a few things..." She sniffled. "But he said the Future Foundation doesn't exist anymore! He says if they were still fighting for hope, the world wouldn't be weird and gross like this!"

"That...may actually shed a bit of light on a recent interaction I had with my own father." Tetsuo narrowed his eyes. "I was browsing the recent additions to our library, and I happened upon a document that mentioned the Future Foundation multiple times, but provided no useful context on the subject. So, I resorted to asking my father." He scowled. "Typically, he enjoys condescendingly carrying on about the subjects of my questions, to the point that I regret asking. But this time, his response was rather cryptic." 

He put a hand to his chin as he recalled the exact words. "He said, 'it depends on who you ask, and when.' He simply ignored me after that."

"Well that's useless," Kokichi sighed. "Anyway, I don't care what they were in the past." He clenched his fists determinedly. "Right now, they're the ones abducting teenagers and forcing them to play a fake killing game!"

Kiki pressed another button. A different villainous fanfare filled the room.

"Don't overuse it Kiki, it's gonna get boring," Shigeri commented. 

"What?!" Ayu gripped her pigtails miserably. "But why?"

"Could it be...some other group...who stole...their name?" Yuri suggested. "It would be...easy to...lie about that...if the real...Future Foundation...is gone..."

"How dare you doubt me, you slug." Kokichi shook his head with a patient smile. "If they were lying, I would know."

Yuri let out a soft chuckle. "Boss...you're an...idiot..."

"Whatever, I'm still right." Kokichi sipped from his goblet. "Even if it is some fake group that has nothing to do with the original, there's no doubt that they're the masterminds behind the killing game. That's all that matters."

"Th-that's true B-boss!" Yoshi nodded earnestly. "B-but I still w-wanna know what h-happens to the p-people who d-die!"

"They get recruited," he replied nonchalantly. "And based on how they were acting, and the amount of resources they must have...I don't think they're letting the ones who refuse just walk away."

Kiki gasped in delight. "Are we gonna rush in to rescue them and sweep them off their feet?"

"No way!" Kokichi pouted. "It sounds so dumb and boring when you say it like that." A slow, sadistic smile spread across his face. "We're going to abduct them. Then we'll either convince them to join us, or torture them until they have no other choice."

"Oooooohhhh of course!" Kiki nodded excitedly. "I've been working on some new torture methods~!" She hummed as she pulled a small remote control from her other pocket. She pointed at various buttons in turn. "So if I push this button, it sends out a signal to all mobile devices within 50 feet that disables all your alarms and reminders! And this one turns your ringtone volume to full blast and sets all your notification tones to naughty sounds!" She giggled proudly.

"That's a good start, I guess." Kokichi nodded his approval. "But we'll need a lot more technology than that before we can even get inside their facility, I bet. So you better not start slackin' off now, Kiki!"

She winked at him playfully. "Roger that~!"

"Tetsuo, Yuri, we're gonna need to find this place and stake it out. Can I trust you two not to screw that up?"

"When have I...ever...screwed up...a recon...mission?" Yuri rolled her eyes. "Never... that's when...stupid..."

Tetsuo smirked loftily and crossed his arms. "The fact that you even need to ask shows your true inferiority, you simple figurehead."

"Nee-hee-hee! Testy is extra testy today!"

As he continued to assign roles for the first stage of his plan, his heart grew lighter and lighter. Finally, he was back in control, with his trusted cohorts by his side. No more weighing the risks of asking for help in a world of suspicion and madness. No more simply hoping his plans would work. No more placing trust in strangers who refused to even try to understand his methods. No more tricking his mind into believing that such a boring and bleak world of murder was fun.

"Alright, everyone understand? This might be our most dangerous scheme so far, so no slacking off allowed! There's no room for screw-ups in my plan, so don't disappoint me!"

"Hellllll yeah Boss!" Ryu hollered. "Let's goooooooo!" 

The table erupted into similar cheers as everyone rushed off to get started. Soon, it was only himself and Shigeri left in the room. As the only two members of the gang without homes of their own, they didn't have far to travel. Natsumi's parents had been kind enough to set up a pair of simple bedrooms in the basement of their mansion, on either side of the war room. 

Shigeri smirked, picking their nose. "You think your new dumbass plan's gonna work?"

"Of course it is," Kokichi scoffed. Then, mostly to himself, he muttered "it has to."

"Uh-oh, careful Boss, your bad boy act is fallin' off," they snickered. When he ignored them, they shook their head and changed the subject. "Can't believe ya really tried to die in that shitty game."

The grin that suddenly split Kokichi's face was just a bit too wide. "You idiot. You really think I didn't know I'd survive? I knew what they were really up to the whole time!" He cackled maniacally.

"Yep, sure thing," Shigeri shrugged. They stood and stretched. "Go to bed, Boss. Dumb cranky brats should be asleep by now."

***************

_The mechanical screeching seemed to mock him as it echoed through the cold empty room, emphasizing his solitude more than silence ever could. This time he stared upward, challengingly, unblinkingly, at the stoic slab of metal. Even though he could hear and see it moving, it didn't seem to ever get any closer._

_Finally, he gave up and closed his eyes. He could feel the presence of the metal slab almost immediately, but it seemed to slow to an endless crawl as it pressed against him. The steady increase in pressure seemed to take hours, possibly days. The screeching metal almost sounded like laughter as the air was forced from his lungs, as his mind threatened to give in to panic and pain--_

With a shout, he sat up straight in his bed. His head ached, his heart raced, and his breath came in shallow gasps, but all he cared about at the moment was the fact that he could sit up. He threw his unusually restrictive blankets off as he tried to force the anxiety away. 

"Shit," he hissed, crossing his arms and kicking his bedside table. Voluntarily subjecting himself to one of the most brutal deaths he could imagine had been annoying enough to get through. Surviving the experience, remembering it, was a development in his plan that he hadn't prepared for.

Before he could fully compose himself, his door opened without a knock. Shigeri stumbled in sleepily and collapsed backwards onto the foot of his bed, their legs dangling off the edge. "Th'fuck you yellin' about, asshole?" they grumbled, rubbing their eyes.

"Yelling?" Kokichi blinked innocently. "I didn't hear anything. Are you sure you didn't just have a nightmare?"

"Oh ok, so that's what it was." They nodded. "Nightmares usually ain't boring. What was it about?"

He scowled at his most perceptive and persistent minion for several seconds before sighing heavily. "Alright fine...if you wanna know so bad..." He took a deep, trembling breath. "It was all...darkness. And then, floating in that infinite darkness...I saw..." He trailed off with a shudder. 

Shigeri raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"...your ugly-ass face!" He fell backwards, clutching his chest in mock terror.

"Sure thing, Boss," they snorted. With a yawn, they rolled over to face away from Kokichi. "Guess I don't get a bedtime story after all, how boring. Oh well, at least I can stop pretendin' I give a damn..."

"Hey!" Kokichi sat up suddenly. "Don't you dare fall asleep in here you shithead!" 

The only reply he received was an obnoxious snore.

"Ugh," he groaned. He grabbed his pillow and smacked Shigeri in the head with it. He knew they were faking, but there wasn't much he could do about it. "You might be the worst person I've ever met," he mused, resting his head on the pillows once again. Brimming with a gratitude he doubted he would ever express, he wrapped himself in his blanket again.


	6. Free Time?

They all spent the following week working tirelessly, ensuring that they'd be as prepared as possible for the adventure ahead. Many of them only paused in their work for the sake of meals and sleep. Their parents rarely questioned the sudden spikes of diligence in their children. Inspired by the hope of their leader's return, it was only natural they'd want to work hard. After over 50 killing games had caused hundreds of talented students to disappear, the teenagers that resided in their hidden mountain community were probably the closest thing the world had to "ultimates."

Shigeri strolled around the wooded landscape with a casual smile, enjoying the sunshine and clean air. As the only one without much talent to speak of, they were the only one who ever even tried to get away with slacking off. 

A glint on the ground caught their eye. They bent down curiously and retrieved a safety pin, likely dropped by Shinji. They fastened it to their jacket and continued to walk, wondering what else they would find that day. 

They decided to visit Ryu first. His parents were both strong and skilled athletes, so he had access to a full training ground in his backyard. There was even an elaborate obstacle course his mother added to on a regular basis, but they would never expect to find Ryu there. As a heavyweight brawler who could punch through a brick wall, speed and agility weren't his favorite skills to train.

They walked around the house and kicked over an orange cone as they passed by the obstacle course. The garage door was wide open, revealing an impressive gym. Ryu was busy destroying an unfortunate punching bag inside. Yoshi was nearby, shooting at aluminum cans with his slingshot while wearing a blindfold. 

"Hey dudes," they greeted, picking their nose as they entered the garage. Several stopwatches hung from a hook on the wall. They pocketed one as they walked by.

"Hey, Shigeri!" Ryu roared, pounding his fists together with a grin. "You finally here to train with us?"

"Nah." They opened the cooler nearby and grabbed a sports drink. "Just checkin' in. Makin' sure you're all hard at work."

Ryu laughed. "That's our Shig! So busy lookin' after us ya got no time to do any work yourself! Sounds like a rough job!" 

Shigeri rolled their eyes. The fact that Ryu was completely sincere somehow made it more annoying than any sarcasm. "Oh it is. Glad you get it, dude."

"Ohh! I m-missed one!" Yoshi groaned from outside. He lifted his blindfold. His eyes widened when he saw Shigeri. "It's g-gotta be y-you! Shig, you're b-bad luck!" He looked distraught as he clenched a fist into his curly red hair. 

"Jeez, fine, I won't stay long," they smirked. "Just curious what you dudes think of the plan so far." 

"I LOVE IT!" Ryu roared, making Yoshi flinch. "Boss says I get to punch some robots! My fists are already cracklin'!"

"Your f-fists c-crackle when you p-punch robots? Th-that sounds like b-being e-electrocuted!" Yoshi cried, turning pale. "A-anyway, I th-think I l-like the p-plan...it s-sounds like n-no one should h-have to get hurt..." 

"Well, ya never know," Shigeri shrugged. "That's what we're hopin' for." They chugged the rest of their drink and tossed it at the trash can, missing by several feet.

"Wh-whaaa-" Yoshi's eyes widened. "I k-knew it! S-see? You're b-bad l-luck!"

"Well, I ain't stayin'," they snickered. "Keep up the good work, dudes." 

"Yeah! You too!" Ryu pumped his fist in the air. 

"I've g-gotta go s-sprinkle some s-salt on my s-slingshot..."

Shigeri waved as they left they gym. They paused and stooped to pick up a stray pellet that Yoshi had fired. Slipping it into their pocket, they sauntered away.

***********

A pleasant breeze made the leaves shake gently as Shigeri wandered beneath them. Their next destination was Kiki's lab, which always made for an interesting visit. Her inventions were nearly always what made their missions any fun. 

They stopped suddenly, feeling a slight presence. They almost thought they'd imagined it, but they knew better. "Yuri?" They turned around expectantly. 

The tiny girl was standing only a foot behind them, looking embarrassed. "Oh man...you sensed...my presence..." She sighed. "I saw...a butterfly...it was...so pretty...that I started...breathing normally...again..."

Shigeri shook their head. "Didn't the boss say no slackin'? Gonna blow the whole mission over some pretty bugs?"

Yuri narrowed her eyes, but then she looked just past them with a small gasp. "Oooh...there it...is...see...?"

Shigeri followed her gaze, but saw nothing. "No it ain't." When they looked back, Yuri was gone. They shrugged and tried to take a step, but the laces of their boots had been tied together. They snickered. "Alright, jeez, I take it back."

"That's what...I thought..." Yuri stepped out from behind a tree, smirking. "That should...teach you...to doubt...my skills..."

"Sure," Shigeri yawned and bent to fix their laces. A bottle cap sat discarded near the toe of their boot, so they picked it up. "So what do you think of this plan?"

"Well...I feel like...it'll work..." she reasoned. "I don't think...they'll be too...hard to find...if everyone...out there...likes the killing game... there's no reason...to hide..."

"Yeah, let's hope they're nice and relaxed so we can break in easy," they nodded, yawning. "Guess that's one benefit of the world bein' a pile of shit, huh?"

"Your optimism...is weird...but at least...it's optimism...I guess..." Yuri frowned at them. "Anyway...I gotta...go practice...not getting...distracted...have fun...picking up trash..."

Shigeri grinned. "Have fun playin' hide 'n seek with yourself."

**************

As they approached the door to the lab, a platform in the wall beside it suddenly opened. A screen with a security camera attached slid out and focused onto Shigeri's face. All that displayed on the screen was ^OwO^ in the center, most likely to serve as a face. A bubbly and annoying artificial voice sang through the speakers. "Pwease state youw name and business!"

"I fucking hate you, die in a fire."

"Wwong ansew! Ewiminating intwudew in thwee...two...one..."

A loud beep sounded, and something that looked like a gatling gun slid out of the wall beside the insufferable security system. Before Shigeri could react, it fired, covering them with silly string. 

"Uh-oh! Someone was naughty!" The screen emitted a shrill giggle before disappearing into the wall once again. Seconds later, the door opened.

Rolling their eyes, Shigeri entered the lab. He found Kiki hard at work on a some sort of machine that looked like a hammer. "What's that thing?"

She whirled around and held it up proudly. "It's my anti-horny hammer! Bonk bonk!" She smacked herself lightly on the head with it and giggled. "Juuuust kidding! The boss gave me some blueprints for all this stuff that disrupts wireless signals, and he wants me to make a whole bunch! He said this one is called the electro hammer, but I think that's boring, so it's been officially renamed to the Jammer Hammer!"

"Huh, weird." They pointed at a remote control that sat nearby. The back panel was open, exposing the wires. "What's that thing?"

"Oh, that's just a little audio recorder~" she said casually, picking it up. She quickly screwed the back panel on and then pressed the button. "Let's try it out! What's your deepest, darkest, naughtiest secret?"

"Uh, fuck you?"

The remote control squeaked and sprayed them with a glittery perfume that smelled strongly of bubble gum. They coughed and scowled. 

Kiki burst into a fit of giggles. "Ohhh I forgot to mention, it also reacts when you say something rude!" She grinned proudly. "Whaddya think? After all this dumb despair stuff is over, they'll have no choice but to recognize me as the Ultimate Saboteur!"

"Ultimate Annoying Bitch, more like." They closed their eyes as the perfume coated them yet again. "Anyway, don't be sayin' that shit til we win, or you'll end up on TV like the Boss."

"I'd like to see 'em try! I'll make 'em wish they were never born!" She cackled merrily. "So what should I test out on you next? I have this device here that emits a signal that--"

Shigeri stepped quickly out of range of the annoying audio recorder before replying. "How about you go fuck yourself with a cactus. I'm gonna leave now." 

"Don't threaten me with a good time, Shiggy Wiggy~!" 

As they fled from the lab, a small set of pliers caught their attention. They quickly snagged them before heading out the door.


	7. Free Time? - part 2

Tetsuo closed another book with an annoyed sigh and set it aside. Yuri had been correct; a simple series of searches had led him to the location of the TV studio where the last several killing games had taken place. A bit more digging suggested the existence of a secondary location that wasn't public knowledge. There was no information that confirmed an address, but there were several locations other researchers had indicated 'suspicious'. 

He'd already typed up a report on his findings that he planned to send to Kokichi, as well as Yuri, Kiki, and Natsumi to help with their roles in the current state of the plan. Begrudgingly, he trusted his colleagues to uncover the information the studio didn't want to share, but he wasn't satisfied. His own role had been offensively easy. 

Making a mental note to repay his 'boss' for the grave insult, he turned his research to the Future Foundation. The infuriating fact that his father clearly knew more than he was willing to share led him to believe that his home library would hold the answer, but so far, he'd found only vague references with little context.

"Useless," he spat. He couldn't help but wonder if his father were cultivating their collection specifically to conceal information. Unfortunately, the internet had been nearly scrubbed clean of anything useful as well. 

He picked up another book, refusing to believe he was at a dead end. Dead ends didn't exist for him.

"Oooh I think I found something!" Ayu chirped suddenly, causing Tetsuo to nearly drop the book. "Twenty-five years ago this mysterious facility fell into de-oh, nevermind, that says 'disrepair.'" She sighed.

Tetsuo glared sharply. "Why are you in my house and how long have you been here?"

"I thought I could help!" Ayu clenched her fists determinedly. "I wanna know more about the Future Foundation! But there's nothing online so I figured the best place for information would be here!"

"Well if I haven't found anything, you have no chance whatsoever," he hissed. "Therefore, I will let you know if I find anything. Continue with your reading if it makes you feel better, but keep your supposed 'findings' to yourself or I'll have you escorted out."

Ayu nodded. "I'll find something, you just watch!"

"Always bullyin' the nice ones, Testy," Shigeri shook their head as they appeared from behind a shelf, knocking over a stack of books as they passed. "That's boring. Pick on someone like me or the Boss."

Ayu smiled. "It's okay. If he were really mad I would leave, but he's just sad he can't find anything."

Tetsuo pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. "This is not a public library."

"Oh, so information is a privilege that only you rich bastards get? Don't be like that, Testy." 

"I have trouble believing you're able to read, much less that you came here for research," Tetsuo spat. "What do you want?"

"Hey, now," Shigeri put up their hands innocently. "I'm just goin' around askin' my bestest buddies what they think of the plan so far."

"Tell our leader that if I don't receive a suitable challenge during the next phase of the plan then I will consider him unworthy of my assistance from that point on."

"Sure, dude," Shigeri snickered, snagging a pen from the table. "So if your job was so easy, why're you all pissy in here?"

"We're trying to find information on the Future Foundation now!" Ayu replied helpfully. "I can't stop thinking that it's gonna be really important to know their history!"

"Finally, a straight, non-dickhead answer." Shigeri grinned. "How about you, Ayu? Any thoughts?"

"I like the plan, I think, but..." She trailed off, looking uncomfortable. "There's still so much I don't understand. I hate proceeding with so little information."

"Yeah, well, what can ya do, right?" Shigeri shrugged. "Glad you guys are hard at work still, though. The boss would be proud."

"What a lovely parting sentiment," Tetsuo said pointedly. "Goodbye."

Shigeri yawned and waved over their shoulder. "Good luck kids."

"Worthless fool," Tetsuo growled. 

Ayu giggled happily. "They're working hard, in their own way."

**************

Shigeri's meandering journey brought them to Shinji's house next. The property was every bit as grand as Tetsuo and Natsumi's mansions, but in a different way. Shinji's parents shared his dramatic and eccentric tendencies, and it was reflected heavily in their decor.

Kokichi had always held an appreciation for their aesthetics, demanding that the war room be located there instead. Unfortunately, Shinji's father had insisted that he needed the extra space to 'cultivate an army that will strike fear into the gods themselves.' His mother had kindly translated, explaining that they were setting up the space to breed various species of rodents. 

Kokichi had mocked them, of course, but Shigeri hadn't been fooled; their 'Supreme Leader' clearly had a secret desire to pet cute animals.

They continued lazily past the statues of hideous demon beasts and magical girl robots until they reached the garage. Ignoring the signs on the door that sternly declared DO NOT ENTER, they pushed open the door.

The walls were papered with sketches of flashy costumes, tactical gear, and even battle armor for Ryu. Thick bolts of fabric in various colors filled the far wall. A black and white workbench stored an assortment of differently sized needles and pins, buttons, sequins, gems, and other tiny useful items that made Shigeri's inner magpie twitch.

They shook their head. Finding a button in a pile of buttons had no meaning.

In the middle of the room, Shinji sat at a table with a built in sewing machine, cackling quietly to himself as he worked on a new sketch. Shigeri approached cautiously. He was exciteable enough without being startled. "Hey dude, whatcha workin' on?"

"I'm delighted that you would expend the effort to ask, my esteemed colleague of darkness!" He leapt from his chair with the notebook in hand, as if he'd been waiting for the opportunity. 

"Feast your unworthy eyes upo--" He started to brandish the notebook, but paused and narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, he pointed dramatically, his finger less than an inch from Shigeri's nose. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?"

"Huh?"

"THERE!" Shinji pointed at a small, nearly imperceptible grass stain on the knee of their white pants. "How can you ever hope to render your enemies nothing more than a groveling pile of regret in such a disheveled state?"

Shigeri rolled their eyes. "Come on dude, shit happens."

He sighed in frustration. "Between our leader's preference for darkly pigmented soft drinks and your overall lack of diligence, my role has been diluted down to that of a mere laundry maid!" he moaned. 

"Maybe stop carin' so much," Shigeri yawned. "We're out doin' evil deeds, shit's bound to get dirty."

"Tell me, what is the difference between a renowned swindler and a petty thief? What seperates a true mastermind from a simple prankster? What is the line that divides a criminal syndicate from a pathetic gang of street rats?"

Shigeri picked their nose thoughtfully. "Uh, let's see...social standing? Success? Resources? Semantics?"

"PRESENTATION!"

"Oh."

"Presentation is EVERYTHING!" he roared. "Intimidation is a factor that has decided entire wars! This is why my role, as the Supreme Demonic Couturier of the Underworld, is of the utmost importance!"

"Sure. Should I even ask what you think of the plan?"

"Magnificent!" he announced, striking one of his infamous poses. "The diabolical mind of our Supreme Leader is truly magnificent!"

Shigeri snickered. Shinji was a good friend, but he could be truly dull and predictable at times. "Yeah, expected that. Boring. Keep up the good work, dude."


	8. Progress Report

With the sun now hiding behind the surrounding mountains and sinking lower, Shigeri headed back to Natsumi's mansion for food and sleep. They only had a couple more stops to make on the way. 

Out of all of them, Natsumi's workshop was the only one that bore any internal resemblance to an actual garage. Grease-smeared tools and parts were strewn over every surface. A modified black sports car sat amid a few disassembled bikes. The basket for the hot air balloon sat in the corner.

Even though all of the vehicles within technically belonged to her father, Natsumi had free reign over any additional upgrades and maintenance she thought were necessary. With Kiki's help, they now had an assortment of transportation options befitting an evil organization. 

She still couldn't remove them from the property without permission unless she wanted a loud and vulgar scolding from her father, but it was obvious that he would never refuse her request due to his pride in her driving and piloting skills. He tried to seem cold, but he clearly adored his wife and daughter.

Shigeri found her working on one of the drones Kiki had given her. "Whatcha doin'?" 

Natsumi wiped her brow and lifted her goggles to shoot them a red-eyed glare. "You fuckin' blind, asshole? I'm baking some goddamn muffins."

"Clever," they yawned. "Guess I expected to see ya under a car or a helicopter or some shit."

She shook her head. "We won't need any transportation until the next phase of the plan. I'm gonna use these to help Yuri, so they're gonna have to be quiet, and they have to be ready to go long distances without any problems." She let out a sudden cute giggle. "Imagine the look on the boss's face if his plan got fucked over by a drone fallin' right into those fuckers' laps."

Shigeri snickered lightly along with her. Ordinarily, the idea of one of their cohorts being chewed out by their Supreme Leader over a botched scheme would be a hilarious thought...but not this time.

A similar thought seemed to occur to Natsumi as her grin faded to a grimace. "Especially this plan. Seems pretty goddamn important to him."

Shigeri nodded slowly. "I mean, yeah, kid's desperate," they muttered. "Pretty much already died to stop this dumbass murder show, and even that plan failed. Now he gets to try again, with the gang to help out instead of a buncha boring useless assholes with no memories, right? So of course he's gettin' serious."

They stared at the fountain in the yard absently for a few moments, then shrugged. "That's why I been askin' around, seein' what everyone thinks about the plan. Makin' sure he ain't goin' crazy. Ain't great at figurin' that shit out myself."

"Dumbass, the plan's fine," Natsumi snapped at them, but there was concern beneath her scowl. "But how the fuck is he doing after that shit? People don't die brutally and then just fuckin' get over it."

"Well yeah, because they're usually, ya know, dead?" 

"And yet here's your sorry ass, out for a goddamn stroll. I don't give a fuck what you call it, you dipshits are best friends. If you can't be useful then at least offer some fucking support."

Shigeri rolled their eyes. "If that asshole wanted my support, I'd know already."

Natsumi held her fierce red-eyed glare on them for a few more moments before looking away with a sigh. "Yeah I fuckin' know that, I just..."

"I'll keep ya posted," they assured her, yawning as they headed inside. They snagged a tiny lightbulb on their way out. "Just focus on the plan. I won't tell the boss about how you were cryin' out here worryin' about him."

"Hey fuck you!" A thrown tire iron hit the door as it closed behind them.

**********

Shigeri snagged a box of cookies from the large pantry in the kitchen before heading down to the basement. The door to their cozy little bedroom sat ajar, as if to welcome them, but they weren't quite ready to sleep. There was one more stop to make.

Kokichi always kept his bedroom door closed for the sake of privacy, but they had a feeling he wasn't inside. They headed to the war room instead. 

As expected, Kokichi was still sitting in his elaborate chair where Shigeri had left him. The scene wasn't exactly the same, however. The cup of grape soda on the table no longer fizzed and crackled with carbonation. The notebook on the table had several more pages full of ideas, but was now being used as a pillow by the sleeping Supreme Leader.

Shigeri smirked and sat in the chair beside him. They nibbled a cookie thoughtfully as they watched him sleep. His mouth hung slightly open, putting his hastily scribbled plans in danger of drool damage. If he didn't wake up before that happened, he'd probably be upset about it.

With a shrug, Shigeri ate their cookie and retrieved another. They carefully placed it into Kokichi's open mouth. After a few moments of stirring, he sat up, blinking blearily. "What the hell...?" he muttered, his words muffled by the cookie. He crossed his eyes to look down at it, then scowled.

Shigeri snickered at him. With how much respect and authority he commanded from their gang, it was always amusing to be reminded that the boss was still just a cute bratty kid in a lot of ways. They made a mental note to tell Natsumi about the scene in secret. 

"Mornin' Boss. And by mornin' I mean time for bed." They stretched and yawned as if to demonstrate. 

Kokichi stared down at the notebook, chewing the cookie thoughtfully. "I'm not going to bed. I have to finish outlining the next staaaa..." He trailed off as a yawn seized him. "...stage of the plan," he finished.

"If you were gonna do that, you'd've finished instead of passin' out."

"Shut up you lazy waste of space, I was only resting for a minute," he snapped. "Like you have the right to say anything anyway. What did you do all day?"

"Oh, ya know, this'n that. Checkin' up on progress, pickin' up garbage, that's my style." They grinned proudly as they thought of their pockets full of miscellaneous useless items. 

"Oooof course," Kokichi sighed, rolling his eyes. If it were any other member of the group, he'd have been legitimately annoyed, but he was used to Shigeri's unique style of contributing to his plans. Progress updates were important, after all, and they had made crucial use of their collection of pocket trash on a number of occasions. "So is everyone else being useful then?"

"Lemme see...Ryu's punchin' things, Yoshi's shootin' things, Yuri's sneakin' around, Kiki's pissin' me off..." They counted them on their fingers as they listed them off. "Ayu's studyin' the Future Foundation in Testy's library while he bitches about his ego, Shinji's strugglin' with his obsession with laundry, and Natsumi's gettin' drones ready." They yawned again. "So I guess the answer is...kinda?"

Kokichi nodded. Despite Shigeri's disdain, he could tell that everyone was doing essentially as he had instructed, or at least what he'd expected them to do. He returned his gaze to his notebook, frowning as he tried to decipher the squiggly, aimless letters he had been attempting to write while drifting off.

"Happy now?" Shigeri raised an eyebrow. "Time for bed yet?"

He hesitated, then shook his head. "I have work to do, idiot, I told you."

"Can't work on no sleep, dumbass."

Kokichi slid the cup of flat purple soda toward them impatiently. "I just need something with caffeine, dammit. If you wanna be helpful then get me a drink."

"Ugh," they grumbled, picking up the cup. They stomped upstairs to the kitchen, shaking their head.

They returned quickly, the cup now full of fresh neon green soda. When they cracked open the door to the war room, Kokichi was still staring absently at the notebook. He looked exhausted...and somehow scared.

Shigeri blinked as it dawned on them. They'd already known about the nightmares, but had they really become so vivid and traumatic that Kokichi was afraid to go to sleep? 

Leaving the drink beside the door, they made another quick trip to the kitchen. They brought the bottle of caffeinated soda and a second cup, a bag of potato chips, a pack of beef jerky, and a bunch of grapes. They picked up the cup by the door before nudging it open and laying the snacks out across the table. "Here we go."

Kokichi's eyes lit up slightly at the array of treats, but he hid it behind an exasperated frown. "What's all this for, exactly?"

"Hey, if you ain't gonna sleep, I ain't gonna make ya, but I also ain't gonna let ya." They smirked mischievously as they opened the bag of potato chips. "Whaddya think? How many snacks ya think I can fit in your face before ya wake up? Wanna bet on it?"

"I told you I was just resting!" Kokichi took one of the grapes and threw it at Shigeri's forehead. "Go away, I'm trying to work."

"Hey, I know that, I'm tryin' to help! Someone's gotta be here to keep your sleepy ass on track. Maybe ya shoulda gone to bed while ya had the chance, kiddo."

Kokichi rubbed his tired eyes with a sigh of surrender. If there was one thing he missed about the people he'd met in the killing game, it was how easily they bought his lies. He could fully customize their impressions of him, their reactions, almost everything. With everyone else convinced, he could even manage to convince himself, essentially customizing his own reality. But Shigeri and Natsumi and the others had known him far too long. 

"Whatever," he muttered finally, with another yawn. "Just don't distract me."

"Me? A distraction?" Shigeri snickered, loudly crunching a mouthful of chips. "That hurts, Boss." 

Shigeri stayed there until Kokichi could no longer keep his eyes open. Rather than attempting to prank him awake, they carefully replaced the notebook with a small pillow and draped a blanket over him. He still didn't look comfortable, but he seemed to be sleeping at least somewhat peacefully. 

With a small sigh, they visited their own room to change clothes and retrieve a blanket of their own. The messy bed still beckoned to them, but they forced themself to ignore it. Now that they knew the circumstances, they didn't want to picture the bossy little brat waking up alone in an unexpected place.

Natsumi's blunt words had been right, after all, no matter how either of them tried to deny it. They had grown up together, alone on the cruel streets of a fundamentally broken society. If such a history didn't make two people 'best friends,' nothing could.


	9. Infiltration

The next few weeks went by in a similar fashion as the group moved into stage two of the plan. Ryu and Yoshi continued to train their combat skills. Ayu and Tetsuo meticulously combed through the books and files in the library for any lingering information about the Future Foundation. Shinji finished sketching out his ideas and started making the physical prototype of their newest uniforms. Kiki and Natsumi added the finishing touches on the drones and other equipment that Yuri would need to sneak into the TV studio. Natsumi began working on the hot air balloon, and Kiki continued to brainstorm ideas for the main event.

Shigeri stayed by their Supreme Leader's side, supporting him and relaying his new orders to the others. Kokichi continued to avoid sleep whenever possible. He kept himself busy by planning for every potential way the plan could go awry. Whenever Shigeri asked him why he refused to relax and socialize for even a moment, he always gave the same answer. 

"This plan might be pretty dangerous, ya know," he mused. "Why bother getting all buddy-buddy now when I don't know who's gonna screw up and get themselves killed?"

His reply was nonchalant, but the reason was clear to anyone who knew him, especially after what. He was distancing himself on purpose, trying to avoid the full impact of losing his friends. 

************

Yuri crept silently across the open field that surrounded the TV studio. Although flat, open spaces made her nervous, it would take more than that to rattle her into making a mistake. Thanks to their initial stakeout, they were now confident that the flat surrounding area was their best defense against approaching threats. The inside was monitored by a simple closed circuit camera system, but the outside was hardly observed at all, especially at night. It was only a TV studio, after all.

Quieter than a breeze, Yuri climbed the pipe on the back side of the building to the roof. She followed the picture from the drone until she found an air vent that was positioned over an office. She removed the grate and listened carefully. She could hear a few voices, likely just a few stray employees finishing up a late night of working overtime. If she didn't know better, she'd have felt sorry for them. 

After a small sigh of relief, she touched her earpiece and muttered softly, "okay... I'm in...position..."

"Roger that, Kitty Cat~!" Kiki's singsong voice filled her ear. "The bomb should be armed and ready to go!"

"Okay...deploying..." She pulled the device out of her bag. It was a shiny black orb with a comically obvious digital timer. She dropped it carefully into the vent and waited.

The sound of the rolling orb echoed the whole way down, along with the conspicuous ticking sound emanating from it. Once it reached the quiet office, it drew attention almost immediately. "B-bomb!" a disbelieving voice shouted. "Everybody evacuate now!" The panicked shouting faded quickly, then disappeared.

"All clear~! They left the grate off just like we thought, and I don't see anyone else on the hidden camera!" Kiki confirmed. "Once it goes off, get in there before people start coming outside!"

Yuri nodded and stuck her head into the vent to listen. She didn't have to wait long; the 'bomb' played a dramatically loud explosion sound effect. After securing a rope to a bolt on the outside, she slid the rest of her body into the vent. She disappeared just as voices sounded from the field below.

The office was as vacant as expected. The 'bomb' sat smugly in the middle of the floor, surrounded by the glitter it had scattered around the room. Instead of the timer, the digital display simply read 'GOTCHA!'

It was more than a simple prank, however. The device was also a signal jammer that prevented the cameras from working. 

Without wasting a second, Yuri went to the nearest computer. She didn't bother trying to open anything or even log in; that sort of thing would be Kiki's job. Instead, she pulled a flash drive from her pocket and plugged it into the first port. After a few seconds, a prompt appeared on the screen, obscuring the username and password fields. A chibi clown danced proudly below a message that read "press enter to initiate file transfer!"

She did as instructed, and the message was replaced by a loading bar. In the meantime, she turned her attention to the filing cabinet beside the desk. After quickly picking the lock, she began rifling through it. 

Most of the information she found was outdated and trivial, simple records and receipts that were likely only kept as physical copies for tax purposes. One category caught her eye, however; the biggest category in the drawer. It was labeled 'Future Foundation Mission Reports,' and there were files from several different years. Blinking curiously, she pulled out the oldest file, from a year when her parents were still teenagers. 

To her surprise, it seemed to confirm at least some of the information Ayu had learned from her father. The file was bulging with descriptions of missions to alleviate despair and spread hope to humanity. Their goals seemed too ambitious for one small organization to accomplish, but based on the reports, they achieved at least some sort of success on most occasions.

There was no doubt that the Future Foundation still existed, but also that they had once been fighting against despair. There were even reports of a few killing games that the Future Foundation had tried to stop from happening. Yuri's eyes widened as she struggled to process the sudden list of oddly familiar names and photos.

A small fanfare from the computer pulled her from her thoughts. The files had finished transferring. It was easy to assume that the information in her hands would be stored among those files too, but it was too important to risk. She slipped it into her bag, retrieved the flash drive, and climbed the rope she had left in the vent. "All done...on...my way..." she reported briefly into her earpiece.

Staying low so she wouldn't be seen by the crowd gathering in the field, she untied the rope and stowed it, then returned to the pipe at the back of the building. She slid down silently and scampered toward the balloon that Natsumi had parked a safe distance away. 

It was already hovering above the ground by the time she got there. She climbed swiftly up the ladder and sat proudly against the edge of the basket.

"Sooooo? You got the goods right?" Kiki inquired as Natsumi raised the balloon high into the sky. 

Yuri rolled her eyes and brandished the flash drive. "Of course...I did...obviously..."

Kiki did a happy little dance as she took it. "Yaaaay Yuri~! I knew we could count on your adorable little tactics!" 

Yuri sighed, but otherwise ignored her. "I also...found this..." She opened her bag and retrieved the file. "There's probably...more information...in the digital...files...but just...in case..."

Kiki took it from her hands and opened it. "Woah wait! Those names!"

"Yep..." Yuri nodded. "Turn...the page..."

Kiki followed the suggestion. After scanning for a few moments, she gasped loudly, nearly dropping the folder. "WHAAAAT?!"

Suddenly curious, Natsumi peeked over her shoulder. Her eyes widened. "That's--wait, what the fuck? The Remnants of Despair?"

"It says...they were...rehabilitated...or something...so I think...it's ok..."

"Easy for you to say, you aren't the one who has to fuckin' worry about it," Natsumi snapped. She returned her attention to steering. "Anyway, we should talk about it with everyone. There's a lot of familiar names in there."


	10. Revelation

Tetsuo's eyes narrowed as he perused the file. "Well. This certainly does raise some interesting questions." He passed the folder to Ayu, whose wide eyes were already brimming with tears. "It appears we have a homework assignment, wouldn't you say?"

"Don't make it sound so casual!" Ayu sniffled. "Our parents...were all in one of the first killing games? Why didn't they ever tell us? My dad tells me everything!"

"Oh come on, you can't possibly believe that," Tetsuo sighed impatiently. "Even a man as naive and gullible as your father is bound to have secrets."

"The fuck do you know, Tets, you don't even talk to your asshole dad," Natsumi snapped. "Anyway, what I need to know is why my parents are labeled 'Remnants of Despair!' How the fuck am I supposed to even bring that up? 'Hey Dad, can I borrow the chopper, also did you and Mom used to be evil or some shit?'"

"Wasn't your dad a gangster back in the day?" Shigeri asked with a yawn. "And you're surprised he's got a shady past? You think the Yakuza goes around shootin' squirt guns and ticklin' people to death?"

"You see any other gangsters on this list asshole? No, you don't. Which means he was worse than that," she growled. "Why the fuck is your smug ass even talking? You don't have anything to worry about."

"That's right," they agreed. "Lucky me. Don't you guys wish you were orphans too?" They smirked lazily. "I feel super bad for you guys though, really. Thoughts and prayers."

"Hmmmm..." Kiki stood and pointed at a picture in the file. "I dunno Shiggy, this guy looks kinda like you!" 

"Who cares? Ain't like I know the guy."

"Why the fuck aren't you guys more worried about this?" Natsumi started pointing at the others in the list. "Kiki, your parents are on here too. And Ryu's parents, and Shinji's." She continued to jab her finger at various headshots, growing more and more agitated. "That's the rude bitchy woman who takes our dumbass family photos every year. And that's the creepy chef that my parents hire for parties, remember? And that's our fucking family nurse. She was there when I was born. We all know the same people in this fucking neighborhood, why am I the only one who gives a shit?"

Kiki giggled. "Lots of people have dark stuff in their past! But my parents are great! They may not be together anymore but they're nice people! There's no way they're weirdos with despair fetishes!"

"I mean, it's pretty hard to imagine creeps like that lettin' me'n the boss mooch off 'em for so long," Shigeri offered with a shrug.

"Maybe..." Natsumi grumbled, but she didn't look satisfied.

"Anyway..." Yuri interjected. "Kiki...did you...get into those...digital files?"

"Oh yeah!" she gasped. "I totally forgot~!" With a twirl, she pulled the flash drive from her pocket and plugged it into the library computer. After a few quick clicks, she turned to face them proudly. "Alllllll done! Just uploaded the goods to your archives, Testy!"

He nodded with a satisfied smirk. "I must admit, this plan has been rather beneficial to my collection thus far."

Ayu wiped her eyes and smiled at him. "Aww, you're really grateful, Tetsuo!"

"Shut up."

Suddenly, everyone felt a vibration in their pocket. At the same time, a cacophony of lewd noises filled the room.

Kiki burst into giggles. "Yaaaaaaay it works~!"

"Uh, cool." Shigeri wrinkled their nose at the sound as they checked their phone. "Looks like we got a meeting."

"I suppose the plan takes priority over this new information, for the time being." Tetsuo pushed up his glasses disdainfully. "But we would all do well to keep it in mind, and interrogate our families at our earliest convenience. I am all too aware how grueling such conversations can be, so delays are understandable. Within reason, of course."

"Yeah, yeah, do your homework, kiddies." Shigeri stood from their chair and stretched. "We goin' or not?"

***************

By the time they reached the war room, Shinji was already there, seated to the right of their Supreme Leader. Despite the heavy bags underneath, Kokichi's purple eyes were nearly glowing with excitement. 

"INEXCUSABLE!" Shinji stood and pointed dramatically. "When the hour of our rise to true infamy is at hand, such delays are absolutely inexcusable! Everyone, steel yourselves! You must not fall prey to Shigeri's slothful influence!" 

"We ain't even late, asshole." Shigeri rolled their eyes. "Majority rules, you're early. What about Ryu and Yoshi?"

"Their repentance shall be collected in due time." Shinji posed grandly with his arms crossed. 

"They probably...took off...their shirts...to train and...left their phones...in the pockets...so dumb..." Yuri shook her head.

Kiki laughed loudly. "Yoshi would lose his own head if it weren't so bright and fluffy!" 

"Eh, it's no big deal," Kokichi dismissed casually as everyone took their usual seats. "Their part of the plan isn't exactly complicated, so... I'll just give them some dirty work later as punishment!"

"S-sorry! We're h-here now!" Yoshi rushed through the door in a panic.

Ryu followed soon after, grinning and pounding his fists together. "WOOHOO! I am pumped!"

"INEXCUSABLE!" Shinji roared.

"Aww don't be sorry, it's all good!" Kokichi smiled cheerfully. "You guys just have to clean underneath Shigeri's nasty bed tomorrow."

"E-ewww!" Yoshi looked horrified. Even Ryu's enthusiasm seemed to falter slightly. 

Shigeri blinked uncomfortably. "Dude, Boss, quit lettin' people in my room."

"Sorry Shig, but you were late too, ya know!"

"We all came in together, you little shit."

"Yep! So everyone else's punishment is listening to you complain about having people in your room! It works out perfect, see? Nee-hee-hee!" He grinned proudly.

"Oooh Boss that's dirty!" Kiki giggled. "Hey Ryu, maybe if you ask real nice, Shinji can whip up a haz-mat suit in your size!" 

"Shut up! I ain't scareda' no nasty ass bed!" Ryu pounded the table. 

"I k-kinda am..." Yoshi muttered, looking miserable. 

"Are we planning to get to the point sometime today?" Tetsuo snapped irritably. "How could anyone be considered 'late' if we're still on the subject of absolutely nothing?"

"Tets has a point," Natsumi agreed, her glare more pronounced than usual. The information in the old file had rattled her more than anyone expected. 

"Fiiiiiinally." Kokichi rolled his eyes. "I was just waiting for you guys to shut up." He turned his attention to Yuri. "I'm guessing there were no complications?"

"Obviously..." she scoffed. "They were...pretty sloppy...on security...just like...we thought..."

"That should help us out, but don't start underestimating the enemy. There's definitely gonna be much better security at the next location." He smirked. "Fortunately, the sneaky part of the plan is pretty much over, now that we have their information."

"Aww...that's boring..." Yuri sighed. 

"That's gotta mean it's fightin' time, right Boss? WOO!"

"Almost," Kokichi nodded. "But make sure you hold back, Ryu. We don't want to stoop to their level by killing someone."

"'Course, Boss! But I thought ya said nobody died for real?"

"That doesn't matter," he snapped. "Forcing everyone to believe such a stupid boring lie is just as bad."

"I agree!" Ayu nodded determinedly. "Lying should be used for helping people, or having fun! Telling so many lies just to spread despair...that just makes lying seem like an evil thing to do, and that's not fair at all!"

Kokichi felt the familiar ache in his chest once again. Even though he'd been home for weeks, it still didn't feel real. Hearing his own long-held ideals stated back to him with such conviction, and seeing the others nodding in agreement, was such a refreshing scenario that it scared him. The thought of the masterminds of the killing games taking any of them from him, after everything else they had put him through, was nearly enough to drive him crazy.

But they had to try. He had to stay focused on his goal until it was achieved, or all of his suffering would be meaningless.

He rolled his eyes, but didn't look at her. "Well duh, Ayu, that's pretty much why we wanted to stop the killing game in the first place," he replied dismissively. "Anyone else wanna state the obvious, or can we continue?"

Ayu opened her mouth for an indignant reply, but she hesitated, staring at him with wide eyes. "Hey Boss," she said softly, her voice suddenly heavy with emotion. "We won't fail, and we won't die, okay?" She smiled warmly at him. "Okay. You can keep going now."

He scowled and continued to avoid eye contact. He found himself once again questioning his decision to allow an empath who said whatever came to her mind into his group. Shigeri was just as nosy, but they at least kept their findings to themself.


	11. The Plan

"Anyway," Kokichi insisted. "Everyone pay attention. This is how it's gonna go. Once Tetsuo finds the address, we'll use the drones to scope it out, then we'll head there as soon as possible. Tetsuo, I know you don't like getting your pretty little rich boy hands dirty, so you can stay behind and keep looking through those files for important info. You can handle that, riiiight?" he taunted.

The only sound from Tetsuo was an annoyed sigh.

"He appreciates it," Ayu confirmed with a happy smile.

"Never speak in my presence again." He pushed his glasses up his nose forcefully.

Kokichi continued as if he didn't hear them. "Natsumi, there's a chance we'll be pursued when we leave this time, so the balloon will be too slow. We'll need the chopper. It'll be loud, so we'll have to have the drones find us a good place to land that isn't too close. After that, we'll approach on foot, so I hope everyone is up for a nice little stroll!"

Natsumi nodded, her scowl deepening. After what she'd seen in the file, asking her father to use the helicopter suddenly didn't feel like an easy task.

"Shinji, we'll need your final product to be a dark, solid color. Blue, grey, and purple will all work, but not black. We don't want anyone to spot us until we're already inside, so even a silouhette could be a problem. Make sure they have hoods to cover our hair too." He paused thoughtfully. "But they've still gotta look cool."

Shinji pointed at the ceiling theatrically. "Only the finest! In order to ascend to our new status as the liberators of this forsaken land, we must look the part in its entirety!"

"Good. Kiki, this place is probably gonna be way too big for us to just set off one little electrobomb, and we're gonna be spread out across the whole building. We need something that can work constantly for a long period of time, so we can keep it with us and disrupt signals as we go. A hundred foot radius should be enough. We're gonna split into pairs, but everyone going inside should have one in case anyone gets seperated."

"Easy peasy, lewd and sleazy~!" Kiki sang, spinning in her chair excitedly. 

"What a...dumb phrase..." Yuri giggled.

"Alright!" Kokichi nodded his approval and smiled brightly. "So, as soon as we land, we'll split up like this. Shinji, Natsumi, you're the Getaway Team. You two will stay with the chopper. We won't be in constant communication since we'll be carrying the jammers, but we can turn them off for a quick message. We'll all let you know when we've made it back outside. 

"Once the last person, which should be me, confirms they're on their way back, get in the air and throw down the ladder so we don't waste any time. And if anyone tries to approach that you aren't expecting, take off and do some laps. If you find a new place to land, be sure to give us the new location when we contact you."

"I'll make sure it's fueled up," Natsumi muttered, while Shinji cackled maniacally.

"Ayu, Yuri, you'll be the Discovery Team. Cover as much ground as possible. Any rooms that have useful contents, like data archives, control rooms, any rooms with added security like electronic doors, mark those doors so Ryu won't destroy anything there. Steal any documents or digital storage devices that look important. If you feel like you're done marking doors, go ahead and start going through the rooms more thoroughly. Your team will be going in first, so be careful!"

"Leave it to us!" Ayu nodded determinedly. 

"They won't...even know...we're there..." Yuri assured him.

"Kiki, Shigeri, you'll be the Sabotage Team. I'll be following you at first, but I'll branch off once I find what I need. After that, disable any doors that the Discovery Team has marked so they can search them later. Once you've done that...well, I trust your imagination to come up with the rest, Kiki." He gave her a playful wink.

Kiki gasped. Her eyes lit up and her face flushed. "Ooooooooh Boss! You sure know how to show a lady a good time! I have sooo many good ideas for fun ways to play with them! I just can't wait!" She burst into giggles.

"You're just gonna run off by yourself and leave me with the perverted squeaky toy?" Shigeri rolled their eyes. "Dumbass."

"Not until I'm safely inside an exisal, you idiot," Kokichi corrected. "I won't be roaming the facility either. Once I can take control of a Monokuma, I won't have to. They seem to have pretty impressive movement abilities, so I'm gonna use it to find the other participants of the last killing game, screw with them a little bit, and then force them to join us. If any of you guys find them first, try not to tell them you work for me, or they won't trust you. Just tell them you're there to help."

"Boss! This plan's hella cool, but when do we get to the best part?" Ryu demanded, grinning excitedly.

"I was getting there," Kokichi snapped. "Ryu, Yoshi, you two are the Destruction Team, of course. You'll be going in last. As soon as you get inside, start breaking things. Cameras, control panels, anything that looks like it'll be used for a killing game or to stop us. They'll probably use Monokuma robots and exisals to fight back, but like I said, I'll be using some of those, so only destroy them if they're attacking or blocking you." Kokichi paused thoughtfully. "And if you find a robot that looks and sounds like a weird whiny teenage boy, don't hurt him. He has feelings, kinda."

"YEAH! TIME TO BREAK SHIT!" Ryu cheered. 

"S-so we j-just g-gotta leave the m-marked d-doors alone?" Yoshi asked nervously. 

"Thaaat's right!" Kokichi confirmed cheerfully. "I should only need one exisal and one regular Monokuma. Everything else is fair game! Turn the place into a scrap heap!"

The two of them cheered in unison.

"Alright. Everyone understand their part of the plan? We should only need to be there for a few hours. If you're injured or fully disarmed, head back early, but make sure not to let that happen. Any questions?" Everyone shook their heads. "Leeeeet's get started then! First things first, go get a good night of sleep so you're not totally useless all week!"

"Hypocrite," Shigeri yawned as everyone stood up to leave, chatting excitedly about their roles.


	12. The Easy Part

Tetsuo closed the document he'd been studying with a sigh of annoyance. He'd been instructed to sift through the impressive collection of files to find anything that hinted at a second location. It was, at least, a task that was difficult enough to be worthy of his research skills, but he hadn't been able to find a single lead. There were various mentions of an underground facility of some kind, but there were no addresses, no coordinates, not even a city where it might reside. 

He grumbled as he clicked the next potentially relevant file. If there was one thing he hated more than being disrespected, it was failure.

"What's wrong, Tets?" Ayu asked, looking up from the book she'd been reading. 

He barely spared her a glance. "The fact that you're still here."

She giggled. "Don't lie to me just to be mean, that's no fun!" She marked her page and skipped over to him. "Come on, what's wrong?"

He sighed again, but relented. "The only reference I've found to the location of this facility is the fact that it's underground. That lowers the possibility of finding a simple address, of course, but one could logically expect to find a recorded latitude and longitude of such an important location. I've found nothing of the sort, and I've skimmed through nearly everything."

"That is frustrating!" Ayu frowned thoughtfully for a few moments. "Hmm...well, what if it's just underneath the TV studio? That would make a lot of things easier for them, I bet!"

Tetsuo blinked, glaring at her. Of course his complex intellect had missed such a simple answer. That had to be it. With a huff, he turned his attention toward his computer once again. "I suppose that's a possibility," he said curtly. 

Ayu's eyes lit up proudly. "I got it, didn't I?" She gave him a quick hug around his shoulders. "You're welcome!" With a giggle, she hurried back to her book.

*************

The sound of the helicopter cut through the silent night just like its blades sliced the surrounding air. It wasn't too loud to have a conversation, but the nine stealthily clad teenagers inside had nothing to say. The excruciating detail Kokichi liked to add to his plans left little need for last minute discussion. He even had a contingency plan for every worst-case scenario he could think of. 

Ryu chuckled excitedly while Yoshi muttered mantras over his slingshot, but everyone else was too nervous to make a sound.

Ayu's revelation of the most likely location for the facility had been good news, since they had already familiarized themselves with the layout and security of the TV studio. The relaxed security meant that they were heavily relying on the secrecy of the facility to keep it safe. Since the participants of the killing games were presumed dead, and the Future Foundation was disgused as a simple production company, it was likely that no one had ever bothered to look for it until now.

Unfortunately, it also meant a few changes to the plan. They still needed to split up initially, since approaching the studio as a large group was too conspicuous. Once inside, the Discovery Team had the same job; marking any doors that looked important to open and couldn't be accessed by standard lockpicking. One of the suspicious doors was sure to lead to a staircase or elevator. The Sabotage Team would open the doors, and send someone to retrieve Ayu and Yuri. They would then all wait by the stairs or elevator for the Destruction Team while keeping a lookout for anyone who might try to pursue them. Once they were grouped up, they would descend, and split up again.

Finally, the chopper descended. Natsumi shut off the blades, leaving them in silence.

Kokichi was the first one to speak. "It's time," he said quietly, with a mysterious smirk. "Everyone ready?" 

There was a cacophony of agreement from the group. 

"Good." He pointed at the door to the helicopter. "Discovery Team, roll out!"

"We can't...turn into...cars...though..." Yuri giggled as Ayu darted excitedly to the door and opened it. 

Kokichi watched the two girls until they disappeared into the gloom. "Alright, Kiki, Shigeri, let's go. Yoshi, Ryu, once you can't see us anymore, that's your cue. Don't start smashing things until we're all downstairs."

"W-wait!" Yoshi gasped. "U-until I c-can't see you or R-Ryu can't? M-my eyes are b-better!" 

Kokichi sighed in annoyance. "When Ryu can't see us. We don't want to have to wait an hour for you guys to show up." As soon as Yoshi nodded in relief, they slipped out into the night. 

*************

Yuri and Ayu entered from the roof, but they didn't use the vent to the office. There was another vent that led to a storage room that wasn't likely to be occupied. 

Once they were inside and had confirmed that no one was around, they picked open the door and crept down the hallway, checking doors. If they heard noises from within, they marked it as "shhh." If the room was empty but looked important, they put an exclamation point on the door in case they had time to check it later. 

"Yuri, look!" Ayu hissed, pointing at a simple wooden door an a far end of the hall. It looked like all the others, aside from a placard that read "DO NOT ENTER," and a subtle scanner above the handle that looked like it required a fingerprint. Throughout the entire studio, they had only seen standard key locks and simple card readers. Inspecting it closely, they realized that nothing in the studio thus far had been as seemingly high-tech and futuristic as the fingerprint scanner. 

"This is it, right?" Ayu whispered. "It's gotta be! Should we just wait here?"

"We'll be...sitting ducks...if we...wait here..." Yuri reasoned. "But we'll...stay close..."

After marking the door with an X, they moved on, checking the other doors in the hallway.

****************

"Huh, Yuri was right, that was easy," Shigeri muttered as they climbed out of the vent. "Thought she was just bein' cocky."

"This studio is like a shy gal with a secret freaky side! You can get inside no problem if you find the right spots~!" Kiki giggled and winked as she slid neatly out to join them. "And trust me, I would know!"

"About bein' shy?" Shigeri snorted. "Callin' major bullshit there."

"I guess you got me!" She shrugged with a grin.

"Don't start relaxing already, dumbasses, this is literally the least dangerous part," Kokichi reminded them. "There won't be that many people up here, and they're all probably all boring lazy pencil-pusher types. We don't know how it's gonna look downstairs."

"Guess so," Shigeri agreed. "Let's get the lame and shitty part over with."

They followed the marked doors, treading carefully past the ones labeled as occupied, until they found the door with the X. 

Kiki's eyes lit up as she moved closer to study the fingerprint scanner. "Ooooh so sneaky! Can't fool me~!" Moving quickly, she opened a side panel of the scanner and clipped one of the wires. She attached both ends to a mysterious device from her bag. After pressing a few buttons, the scanner beeped, and the door clicked open. "Aww yeah, we are balls deep in this place now!"

"Is it just me, or are you extra gross right now?"

Kiki giggled. "Sorry Shiggy, but you know my mind gets dirtier when I'm nervous!" 

Suddenly, they heard a small sound from the far end of the hallway. They turned quickly and saw Yuri and Ayu darting toward them. "You got it open! Yay!"

"I hope...it's an...elevator...not stairs...I don't wanna...get tired..."

"Only one way to find out." Shigeri stepped forward and turned the handle. They raised an eyebrow and wrinkled their nose as they peeked inside. "Uh, well, the good news is, it's definitely an elevator."

"Oh no, what's the bad news?" Ayu asked with wide eyes.

"It ain't here."

"Oh jeeeeez, I should have guessed!" Kiki slapped her forehead. "The jammers, right? I told the door to open but the door couldn't call the elevator up!"

"That's fine, I had a feeling," Kokichi assured them, looking unconcerned. "Shinji said these outfits are pretty durable, so we should be able to slide most of the way down."

"Ugh...nevermind...I want...stairs..." Yuri complained. 

They heard the sound of loud, lumbering footsteps approaching. "Sounds like the Destruction Team is here!" Kokichi grinned. "We might as well start. Yuri, Ayu, I choose you!"

Yuri snickered at the reference as she reached for the thick steel cable. She wrapped her legs around it and descended quickly, as though it were a fire pole. 

"That doesn't look so bad!" Ayu followed cheerfully. She squeaked slightly as she began to slip down the cable quickly.

The Destruction team arrived just as Shigeri slid down after her. Yoshi stared, looking pale, as they disappeared into the dark shaft. "N-no w-way..."

"Aww come on, Yosh, I know ya can do it!" Ryu clapped his nervous partner on the shoulder. "Looks hella fun to me!"

"You'll be fiiiiine," Kokichi rolled his eyes as Kiki descended as well. He gripped the thick cable himself, ignoring the unsettling pit below. "Just slide, it's easy!" With a deep breath, he demonstrated, slipping down into the darkness and out of sight.

It took a bit of coaxing and encouragement from Ryu, but Yoshi finally followed suit. Ryu descended last, and no one followed him. 

With that, they had officially succeeded at entering the hidden facility. They didn't know what to expect at the bottom, but they allowed the small victory to sustain their courage as the pitch dark shaft took them further and further underground.


	13. Discovered

When Yuri reached the bottom, she turned on a small flashlight to look around. She spotted an emergency hatch in the top of the elevator. It was designed to be opened easily from the inside, but it also had a lock on the outside for maintenance. She picked the lock and opened the hatch just as Ayu landed beside her. 

"Perfect!" she celebrated quietly. "We're in!"

"Yeah but...I think...the easy part...is over..." She peeked cautiously through the hatch to confirm that the elevator was empty, then dropped through. They pried the door open together and entered the facility. 

Aside from sturdier doors and better locks and cameras, the simple hallway was nearly identical to to those above them. After sharing a determined glance, the two small girls started their journey.

As they turned a corner, a fancy steel door caught their attention. Large text above it read 'Bio Lab.' Instead of a simple scanner, the door seemed to be operated by a complex control panel. 

"Ooh, this is definitely important!" Ayu whispered excitedly. She drew an exclamation point on the door with a grin. 

"Yeah...for sure..." Yuri nodded. "I hope...Kiki can...get it open..."

Before Ayu could offer any reassurance, a loud banging sounded from inside the room. It was followed by the sound of shredding metal. Ayu squeaked and jumped back. "Um..."

Yuri eyed the door with discomfort. "Maybe there's...some pipes...in there...making noise...?"

"Yeah, but, I kinda think we shouldn't be here to find out until we have backup!" Ayu bit her lip. 

Yuri nodded, and they scampered down the hall.

The next door they found led to a data archive. Excited, they marked the door. Before they could move on, however, a loud sound broke the silence from behind them. They looked back just in time to see the bio lab door crumple.

"Oh no! Run!" Ayu hissed frantically. While it was a reasonable suggestion, they couldn't go far on their own. Without Kiki to hack the doors, there was nowhere to hide.

With their backs pressed against the wall, they watched helplessly as an enormous young man with long green hair burst into the hallway. He wore a tattered suit and no shoes. Glaring furiously through a pair of round spectacles, he turned towards them.

"Oh no...it's over..." Yuri moaned. 

Ayu didn't respond. She was too busy staring intently at the large figure, frowning.

Yuri whimpered as he approached them. "Hey," he demanded, his voice a dangerous growl. "You two work for Future Foundation, right?"

"Wrong... we're trying...to stop them..." Yuri slid down the wall and sat down. "Not like...you're gonna...believe us..."

Suddenly, Ayu stepped forward. She still looked nervous, but she was smiling warmly. "Don't be so hasty, Yuri. He's not a bad guy, he's just scared, like us!" She extended a slightly shaky hand. "Hi there! I'm Ayu Naegi, and this is my cousin, Yuri Fukawa! We're here to stop the killing games forever! Would you like to come with us?"

"Ayu...that's too much...information..."

The boy blinked in surprise. "Gonta's name is...Gonta Gokuhara." He still sounded suspicious, but he took her hand with surprising gentleness and shook it. "Ayu and Yuri...here to help Gonta get out? And others too?"

"Yes! We're gonna save everyone who was in the killing games!" Ayu nodded determinedly, her pigtails bouncing. 

Gonta eyed her thoughtfully. "Hmm...Gonta want to trust tiny ladies...but Gonta feeling very suspicious since he wake up. So, Gonta have one more question." He took a deep breath. "Ayu and Yuri like bugs?"

"Bugs?" Ayu repeated with a frown. She wasn't generally a fan of insects, but there was no reason to upset their new friend over something so trivial. "Bugs are really cool! I just don't like when they walk on me because it tickles too much!"

"That fair," he nodded. "What about Yuri? Yuri like bugs?"

Yuri's eyes were wide, and her fists clenched passionately. "I...love...bugs!"

Gonta gasped happily. "Really?! What Yuri's favorite bug?"

"I have...so many...I like...bugs that...blend in...like...stick bugs...and leaf bugs...but moths...and butterflies...are so...pretty too..."

"You so right! Unpossible to choose!" Gonta looked delighted. "Okay! Gonta choose to trust tiny ladies. Gonta very sorry for scaring at first, very ungentlemanly of him." 

Ayu giggled. "That's ok Gonta! We're in a scary place, all of us are pretty on edge!"

He nodded grimly. "Gonta want to help, so Gonta tell you everything he see since he wake up." He cleared his throat politely before continuing. "Gonta wake up to loud beeping. He open eyes and see he in metal box! Gonta not like tiny spaces, so he get scared and break it open. When he get out, he see other boxes, with friends inside! And they breathing! They not awake yet, but Gonta open boxes for them like gentleman. But Gonta notice a lot of empty boxes that already open, and many friends missing." He glanced down uncomfortably. "Gonta...was hoping to find Kokichi, but he not there either. So Gonta break door, find tiny ladies instead."

Ayu and Yuri shared a glance at the familiar name. Kokichi's desperate failed plan to end the killing game, and Gonta's resulting 'death,' had been one of the most despair-inducing scenes of the entire season. No one in the game had seemed to believe Kokichi's tearful remorse, but the gang, especially Ayu, had known better. She remembered crying for nearly an hour after it ended.

"Uh, that reminds me, Gonta!" Ayu began carefully. "If you don't mind me asking, what's your opinion on Kokichi?" She bit her lip. "You know...after everything that happened?"

"That...good question," Gonta sighed deeply. "Kokichi trick Gonta a lot. Gonta very mad and sad at first, but Gonta realize one day that Kokichi just trying to laugh instead of despair. Kokichi not gentleman, but he not bad either." His eyes looked sad. "After that. Gonta start to realize that Kokichi tell truth when truth important. Gonta...really believe that Kokichi hate killing game."

Ayu's breath caught in her throat. "Gonta..."

He hesitated for a moment, tears forming in his eyes. "When Gonta voted as blackened, he very confused and sad. He worry that Kokichi trick him somehow into doing bad thing. But Gonta think, if Kokichi trick Gonta, why he try so hard to help Gonta not get caught? Why he get so angry at Shuichi for finding truth? If everyone vote wrong, Kokichi die too!" 

He sniffled. "Also, when Gonta executed, Kokichi start to cry a lot. Gonta think it maybe another trick. He wait for Kokichi to say 'it lie!' but he never say that to Gonta. He even ask Monokuma to make him blackened too! But if Monokuma accept terms, he not care if it lie, he do it anyway, because he evil bear. Big risk just for funny lie." He wiped his eyes with a final sigh. "That why Gonta want to find him. Gonta not smart boy, but he believe Kokichi really care, just not show it good."

"That's...not nice...you talk...kinda funny...but you're...really smart!" Yuri insisted. "I talk...really slow...but I'm...still smart..."

Gonta smiled at her. "Thank you Yuri! Gonta appreciate that!"

Ayu was crying too. "And you're right Gonta!" She sniffled. "The truth is, Kokichi is our boss and our friend! He's a rude jerk, but he really does care deep deep deep down!"

Gonta's teary eyes lit up. "Gonta so glad he not wrong! Gonta help Ayu and Yuri get out safe, so Gonta can make Kokichi a friend!"

Their heartfelt conversation was abruptly interrupted by the sound of metallic footsteps. Ayu turned to look, and screamed.

Three fierce-looking Monokuma robots were lumbering down the hall toward them, metal screeching as they gnashed deadly steel jaws. Sharp claws protruded from their paws, each nearly two inches long. 

"Gonta not let tiny ladies get hurt!" He grabbed them suddenly and placed one of them on each of his shoulders. "Sorry! Please hold on tight! Gonta run like wind!"

"But there's...nowhere...to go..." Yuri's unnecessary words were drowned out by the sound of Gonta smashing through another door. A new hallway was revealed, and he took off with impressive speed.


	14. Not-So-Pure Genius

Kokichi, Shigeri, and Kiki landed on the elevator neatly and slipped inside. Thanks to the jammers, the elevator door had stayed open wide enough for them to squeeze through one at a time.

"Wow," Shigeri commented as they glanced around the basic hallway. "We're already in? That was almost as easy as Kiki."

She giggled and clutched her chest dramatically. "Noooo the spear of truth! My one weakness!"

Kokichi allowed himself a small smirk, but it didn't reach his voice. "Shut up and let's start looking already. I can't even get started on the main part of the plan until I find where they keep all their cool robots. You two can go work out your sexual tension when we get home."

Before either of them could voice their opinions on the idea, they heard the sound of metal slamming repeatedly against the floor. It seemed to be approaching from the left, traversing the intersecting hallway in front of them. They watched quietly as a group of vicious Monokuma robots lumbered past them.

Shigeri raised an eyebrow. "Well shit, that's lame."

"Oh no! Do you think they're chasing Ayu and Yuri?" Kiki gasped.

"Oh hey, this makes things so much easier! Almost boring, really," Kokichi scoffed. "So, I'll go left, you two go right!"

"Huh? You dumbass." Shigeri shook their head. "Thought we weren't splittin' up 'til you got your flimsy ass into one of those mech things."

Kokichi rolled his eyes. "If those things went to the right, that means that's probably where Ayu and Yuri are. And if they came from the left, that's probably where I'll find what I need." He smiled slyly. 

Shigeri scowled to hide their concern. "Fine. Dumbass."

"Ooookay Boss! Be careful~!" Kiki patted his head, just to irritate him.

"That's my line," he snapped, swatting her hand away. "Don't get your stupid selves killed. I need you for the plan." His tone was impatient and abrupt, but his voice sounded strangely weak. With that, he headed down the hall to their left. 

"Awww, is he worried about us?" Kiki laughed, skipping to the right. 

Shigeri didn't respond. After one last glance over their shoulder, they followed, grumbling. 

"Woah!" Kiki gasped suddenly, pointing to what had once been a door marked 'Bio Lab.' The steel was bent and crumpled, as though something incredibly strong had forced its way out. "Daaamn! Last time I saw a hole get that wrecked I wa-"

"Shut up," Shigeri cut her off with a sigh. "Or say somethin' useful. Whaddya think happened?"

"No idea~! Should we go inside and check?"

Shigeri wrinkled their nose. "Well, the way I see it, our job was to open up doors. That's probably the open-est goddamn door I've ever seen, so I think we're done here."

Kiki peeked at the equipment inside the lab with a disappointed frown. "I guess that makes sense, but that's boooooring!"

Shigeri opened their mouth to argue, but the sound of more metallic footsteps cut them off. Another group of Monokumas was already stampeding toward them.

"Fuuuuck," they groaned. The dangerous machines had once again come from the route Kokichi had chosen to take. They could only hope he'd avoided them somehow.

"Yaaaay! More robots~!" She pulled a remote control from her bag with a flourish. "Stand back, Shiggy Wiggy! Looks like it's Kiki's time to sparkle and shine!"

Shigeri rolled their eyes. "I wonder if gettin' ripped apart is as bad as listenin' to you."

Ignoring them, she flashed a quick victory symbol, then used the same two outstretched fingers to press a pair of buttons on the remote. One of them caused a burst of black specks to erupt from the top, and the other played the sound of a cheering crowd. The specks flew quickly toward the Monokuma robots, giving them a slightly dirty appearance. A moment later, the began to malfunction, smoking and crackling as their movements became twitchy and erratic. 

"The fuck was that?"

"Heavily magnetized, highly abrasive iron-nickel microparticles! Aren't they so pretty? They get all up inside a robot's nooks and crannies and rough up their sensitive bits! Ooooops!" She gasped as one of the robots exploded into shrapnel. "I guess that one doesn't like it rough~!"

There was a sudden lewd moan from the open door to the bio lab. A blonde girl in pink rushed out into the hallway. She wore a pair of goggles on her head, and leather straps on her legs and torso. She grabbed Kiki's hand, blushing and drooling slightly. 

"Wow...that was...so good..." she whimpered. "You have to come...and work with me on one of my projects sometime!"

Kiki looked perturbed for only a brief second. She grinned her sharp-toothed grin and winked. "Giiiiirl, you know it!" She checked the blonde out conspicuously and nodded. "You look like you'd be fun to...collaborate with!" She giggled.

"Hey, wait, I recognize you." Shigeri pointed at her suspiciously. "Aren't you that bitch who tried to kill Kokichi but got your own ass killed instead?"

Her lusty demeanor turned suddenly timid. "W-what? I-I can explain, I mean--Kokichi? Who--who's that?"

"Uh, you know it was on TV, right?" Shigeri dropped the accusatory hand and snickered. "Dumbass."

"Ehhhh?" She blushed again. "H-how rude..."

Kiki laughed. "I like her~! Let's keep her!"

"K-keep...me...mmm..."

"Fuck that, I'm not dealing with two of you." They shook their head. "Plus she could be workin' for the Future Founda--"

"Hey! Cockstain!" Miu shouted, her aggressive side appearing from nowhere. "You think I'm gonna let a comment like that slip through? Don't you fuckin' know who I am?" She struck a haughty pose with her hands on her hips. "I'm Miu Iruma, the world-reknowned gorgeous girl genius! This little cum dribble of an organization doesn't deserve to take advantage of my golden brain!"

Kiki's eyes sparkled. "So sexy~!" she cheered. "So cool~!"

"Oh, so you're too arrogant to work for anyone." Shigeri nodded with a yawn. "That checks out."

"A-arrogant...?" She started to drool again.

"That's disgusting. Wipe your face."

"Y-yes..." She did as she was told hastily.

"Ooooh Shiggy Wiggy, I think she likes you~!" Kiki cackled at them.

"It too late to let the robots kill me or what?"


	15. Violent Degenerates

Yoshi landed on the elevator with a small whimper. As he lowered himself through the hatch, Ryu arrived, slamming heavily into the metal surface. "AWWWW YEEEAH TIME TO FUCK SHIT UP!!!"

"A-ahhh!" Yoshi gasped as his partner landed beside him. "Y-you s-scared me!"

Ryu laughed loudly and put his arm around Yoshi. "Sorry 'bout that Yosh! I'm just hella pumped and fulla' adrenaline after that ride! Besides, ya knew I was right behind ya!"

"Y-yeah...well..." Yoshi turned slightly red.

Ryu couldn't fit through the existing gap in the door, but had no trouble forcing it fully open."Hell yeah! We're in!" He pointed at a corner where two walls and the ceiling met. "That little shiny thing's a camera, right? Kick its ass!!"

"W-where?" Panicking, Yoshi pulled his slingshot from his pocket and swiveled toward where Ryu was pointing. Without pausing to aim, he fired a pellet, hitting the tiny lens dead center. It shattered with a small pop.

"WOOO! First try!"

"Y-you s-scared me again..." Yoshi whined as he examined his handiwork. "At l-least this m-means the c-curse is gone..."

They meticulously combed the hallways and adjoining rooms, smashing anything that looked useful. "This is great!!" Ryu roared. "Feels like my birthday!!"

"Is th-this r-really w-what you d-do on your b-birthday?" Yoshi asked, looking pale as he disabled another subtle camera. 

"Well I always get to spar with my dad on my birthday, an' he said he was a robot one time! So this is pretty much the same thing!"

"N-not r-really..."

As they left another thoroughly ravaged room, a distant cacophony of metallic sounds and shouting caught their attention. "W-what's that?" Yoshi asked nervously. 

"Hell if I know! Let's go check it out!" Ryu grabbed Yoshi's hand and pulled him along.

He followed reluctantly, but when they rounded the next corner he nearly fainted. Several battle-ready Monokuma robots were gnashing their steel teeth at a dark-haired girl in a tiny sailor uniform. She was poised in a strong martial arts stance, as if planning to take on the whole group of Monokumas herself. The discarded parts from one she had already dealt with sat at her feet.

"Hiiiii-yaaaa!" With a sudden shout, she lifted her leg and aimed a high kick at the head of one of the approaching robots. The sharp steel teeth nearly grazed her skin, but the kick dislodged the head from its shoulders. It collided with the head of another robot, disabling them both. "That'll teach you to chase after girls!"

"Hell yeah!!" Ryu cheered excitedly for the violent display. "Come on Yosh, let's help her out!!"

"O-okay!" Yoshi pulled a few pellets out of his pocket and aimed carefully at the exposed metal that connected the robots's heads to their bodies. It was a small weak point, but easy enough to exploit. He disabled two of the Monokumas just as Ryu finished punching two of his own into scrap metal. 

"WOOO!!" Ryu roared with satisfaction while Yoshi sighed with relief. "Badass!! Hey lady, ya sure can fight!!"

She turned her attention to Ryu and Yoshi, but the rage in her eyes stayed firmly in place as she approached. "Hey! I know what you degenerates are up to! You were just trying to look up my skirt while I was busy fighting!"

"H-huh?!" Yoshi looked appalled. "R-Ryu, you weren't r-really t-trying to d-do that, r-right?"

"Aww, come on Yosh, ya know I wouldn't do that to ya!" He put his arm around his partner again and pulled him into a tight side hug. 

"Hang on..." The girl frowned at them for a few moments before realization dawned on her. "Ohh! I see!" She smiled brightly. "Maybe I can trust you two males after all!" She gave them a small bow. "My name is Tenko Chabashira. Were you trapped here too?"

"Hell nah! I'm Ryu'n this is Yoshi! We broke in so we can break shit and break out!!" Ryu pumped his fists.

"Ugh." Tenko made a face. "Males are so mindlessly aggressive."

"N-no! W-well, R-Ryu k-kinda is..." Yoshi frowned worriedly. "B-but we j-just want to m-make s-sure they c-can't m-make any more k-k-killing games!"

"I don't know if breaking things is gonna be enough, but I'll help in any way I can!" Tenko clenched her fists determinedly. She looked slightly sad as she continued. "I don't want anyone else to have to go through something like that!"

"That's the spirit!" Ryu grinned. "But we ain't just breakin' shit! Our boss's gotta whole ass plan! Roughin' this place up's just our part of it!"

Yoshi suddenly gasped. "T-Tenko, I r-recognize y-you! Y-you w-were the one who d-died in the s-seance..." He gripped his slingshot tightly in both hands for comfort. "I-I'm g-glad you d-didn't really d-die, your s-soul would have b-been c-cursed for s-sure!"

"Oh yeah! You were there!" Ryu looked thoughtful. "Hey, how'd ya live anyway? The boss doesn't wanna talk about it!"

"Died at the seance?" She frowned. "Oh, you must mean that thing!"

"Th-thing?"

"The thing that happened to me at the seance! It was really weird, actually. As soon as the lights went out, it felt like the floor moved down, and someone pulled me away!" 

"Woah! Didja fight 'em off ya?" Ryu asked excitedly. 

She scowled. "They must have rendered me unconscious somehow, like the filthy degenerates they are, because the next thing I remember is all these people in suits trying to corrupt me to join them! But neo-aikido requires an earnest and unwavering heart! I told the others I wanted to end the killing game! There's no way I would join the people responsible for putting us through all that suffering!"

"W-wow..." Yoshi looked impressed. "W-what h-happened n-next?"

Her determined expression faded into a sigh of disappointment. "They knocked me out again. Then I woke up in a lab with the door destroyed. I've just been trying to fight my way out since then!"

As she finished explaining, a distant metallic rumble began, approaching swiftly. Tenko's eyes widened. "Oh no, there's actually more?"

"I w-was afraid of th-that..." Yoshi whimpered, clutching his hands into his fluffy red hair. 

"Awww come on guys, this is great!! Ain't no way our team's gonna lose to some shitty robots!" Ryu pounded his fists together. "LET'S FUCK SHIT UUUUUP!!"


	16. Unlikely Sidekick

Kokichi made his way carefully down the hall alone. He stifled his concerns and speculations about everyone else and their roles, forcing himself to focus on his own part of the plan. The whole point of having subordinates was to trust them with the tasks he delegated to them.

The sound of an approaching group of Monokumas brought him back to his senses abruptly. Thinking quickly, he disabled the lock of a nearby door and waited inside. The robots lumbered past him obliviously and disappeared from sight.

With a sigh of relief, he crept out into the hallway. It was obvious that they weren't being controlled individually, and their AI was programmed to simply patrol the halls and attack any intruders they came across. This fact made it less likely that he would encounter too much human interference while trying to take one for himself.

Finally, he encountered a large steel door that looked identical to the exisal hangar from the killing game. His pulse sped up as he approached the control panel and disabled the electronic force field with his electro hammer. Raising the door confirmed his theory. There were dozens of exisals stored inside, exactly like the ones in the killing game, but without the color coding.

Consciously, he was relieved and excited to have found exactly what he needed. There was no reason to feel anything other than satisfaction and determination as he stepped inside and examined the familiar surroundings. Despite that, a feeling of dread arose in his chest.

He'd known the source of his subtle anxiety from the start, but it was still painfully confirmed once his gaze landed on the object in question. An impressive mechanism designed to dispose of decommissioned exisals. A perfectly reasonable piece of equipment to find in such a location.

He froze in place as he stared at the hydraulic press. His surroundings seemed to fade to a vignette around it. He had no idea how much time he allowed to pass. He felt dizzy and tired. His heart thumped loudly in his chest, and breathing felt strangely difficult. A wave of nausea clutched at his stomach.

He gritted his teeth, feeling foolish. He had a plan. He had to move. But how could he have been expected to factor such a pointless reaction into his plan?

Eventually, a rough, familiar voice spoke from behind him. It wasn't a voice he'd logically expected to hear, and yet it was a cruelly perfect fit to the setting. "Hey, Kokichi! Is that you?"

Kokichi winced, but the sound pulled him mercifully out of his own mind. He plastered a bright, cheerful smile onto his face before turning around. "Oh heyyy! If it isn't the space idiot! Did you need something?"

"Hey!" Kaito clenched his fist angrily, but his scowl quickly shifted to a frown of suspicion. "Wait a minute, don't tell me you actually joined these Future Foundation punks?"

"So what if I did?" Kokichi smirked slyly. "Sometimes evil organizations merge together to become more powerful. What's wrong with that?"

Kaito glared at him for a few seconds, but then he shook his head with a smile. "Nope, looks like you're too late, Kokichi," he laughed.

"Hmm? Too late for what?" He kept his tone nonchalant despite his confusion. Out of all of them, Kaito didn't seem like the type to join an organization like that at all. He was far too stubborn. "Do you actually think you can stop me from doing anything at this point? Nee-hee-hee! You're more stubborn than I thought!"

"That's not what I mean. I'm sayin' I'm not gonna be fooled by your act anymore." He crossed his arms, grinning proudly. "You probably thought you could get away with showin' me your true nature just because we were both about to die, right? Well your plan backfired, and now you're too late!"

"What kind of nonsense are you spewing now?" Kokichi asked irritatedly. "What is it you think you have figured out? I bet you don't even know, do you?"

"Shut up already!" he snapped. "You're just gonna keep screwin' around and makin' shit up, so I'm gonna talk now, got it?" He sighed hesitantly, looking suddenly awkward. "Truth is, I was standin' back there for a few minutes before I said anything. At first I thought, 'do I really have the energy to listen to this guy's bullshit right now?' But then...I noticed what you were lookin' at." He paused. "Pretty messed up way to go out. I almost had to look away!"

Kokichi scowled as his stomach twisted. "Get to the point already, I'm kinda busy here."

"My point is, the killing game is over, right? Ours is, anyway. So you don't gotta wear that ugly-ass mask of yours anymore. I'll make sure of it." He hesitated, then sighed. "It'll be my way of makin' up for the fact that I couldn't make your crazy plan work. Shuichi was too damn smart for me, I guess."

"Making up for it, huh?" Kokichi hid his surprise behind a mocking tone. "Didn't you say 'a man shouldn't apologize so easily' or some other garbage like that?"

"A real man doesn't apologize, he makes it right," Kaito growled. "So that's what I'm gonna do!"

"If you say so." Kokichi shrugged and grinned brightly. "I guess if anyone should apologize it's probably me. That's what you're thinking, right? Nee-hee-hee! But I don't think I will."

"Oh yeah? Not even to Gonta?"

Kokichi's grin faltered slightly as the name sent a wave of guilt through him.

Kaito nodded, looking smugly satisfied. "I told you, you're too late. You can't fool me anymore, I've already decided what to believe. You're gonna be more of a challenge than Shuichi and Maki Roll combined, but that mask is comin' off, you bastard. Whether you like it or not." He jabbed his thumb at his chest proudly. "Because I'm Kaito Momota! Lumi-"

"Yeah yeah," Kokichi cut him off dismissively. "Everyone's heard your stupid dumbass catchphrase before."

Suddenly, Kaito took a step toward him. He suppressed the urge to flinch and clenched his teeth, expecting to be punched. Instead, Kaito put a hand onto his head and ruffled his hair teasingly, which was somehow worse. "You're not some big bad supreme evil leader or whatever. You're just a lonely little brat, and I'm gonna prove it!"

Kokichi shoved his hand away angrily. "I'll have my subordinates torture you for that, you'll see," he muttered, but to his frustration, Kaito simply continued to laugh at him. He sighed in defeat. "Okay, idiot, if you're not gonna leave then you're gonna help me. Got it?"

"Damn right! You're my new sidekick for now, after all!"

"You wish," he scoffed. He approached the two nearest exisals and used his hammer to disable the security features. The hatch for the cockpit swung open on both of them. "You remember how to use these things, right?"

"Yeah, they ain't that complicated."

"Oh good, maybe you are useful." Kokichi climbed inside one of them and closed the hatch. "There's deadly battle Monokumas roaming around everywhere, we'll use these to protect ourselves."

"Yeah? Then what?"

"Then we find the Monokuma control room. It should be nearby, if their layout makes any kind of sense at all. We'll get the door open, render anyone inside unconscious, and then..." he smirked to himself. "That's when my real plan starts."

"Alright! I'm on a roll when it comes to choosing sidekicks!" Kaito grinned.

"I'm in an exisal," Kokichi reminded him irritatedly. "I could just throw you into that wall instead, if you want."


End file.
